‘Would’ve been nice for them to believe in me’: Walters opens up on Broncos sacking

3 months ago 7

Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters has reflected on a rollercoaster 14 months that began with his sacking at the Brisbane Broncos and culminated in him leading his country to an Ashes series victory.

Sitting down with this masthead at the Australian team hotel in Leeds, a candid Walters opened up on his exit from the Broncos while delicately avoiding breaching his termination agreement with his beloved former club.

Walters, who won five premierships with the Broncos as a player, admits he struggled emotionally after being sacked by the club just a year after guiding the team to a grand final in 2023.

“Yeah, I’ll be honest, it wasn’t great after I got removed from the Broncos,” Walters said.

“But you just have to find yourself and find a way to get through it all, which we did. I’ve got this really strong inner belief in myself and the way that I coach, because I’m different to other coaches. It’s successful, and that’s been proven yet again [in the Ashes]. I know back in my time in the Broncos, they were a basket case when I walked in there.

“I fixed them up, got membership, sponsorship, everything breaking records; crowd support breaking records. Then we didn’t have a great year [in 2024] and I get that can happen at different times. So I got removed. But the confidence in myself was still there. I still have unfinished business in the NRL, and I’ve got unfinished business with the Kangaroos this Saturday.”

Walters mas moved on by the Broncos after four seasons at the helm, during which he had a 50 per cent win record.

He took over at a time of major upheaval at the Broncos: they had collected a wooden spoon under former coach Anthony Seibold, the club was divided and fans were angry about the direction of the team.

Walters helped reunite the club with its old boys and managed to get the Broncos into the grand final in 2023, before it was stolen from them by Nathan Cleary and an unforgettable 17 minutes of football.

The following year the Broncos were riddled with injuries and the team failed to reach the same lofty heights, resulting in Walters being shown the door.

Kevin Walters celebrates the Ashes victory with Cameron Munster and Angus Crichton.

“[I wasn’t] so much let down, but it just would have been nice for them to believe in me a bit more,” Walters said.

“From where we’d been to where we were … they obviously won the premiership this year, but to be honest, I expected them to. It was hard [to not think that could have been me], but sometimes in life you get thrown these situations and you have to be strong about it. But they were always going to win the premiership at some stage. It’s done now. We just get on with life.”

The club brought in Michael Maguire, whose hard-nosed approach was deemed to be the solution to the narrative that Walters wasn’t hard enough on his players.

“That was garbage,” Walters said. “You have to build relationships with players to get them connected. All this ‘rock star’ stuff … I like to see people express themselves. If Reece [Walsh] wants to paint his nails, well go and paint your nails, mate.

Kevin Walters and Broncos chief executive Dave Donaghy speak to the media in September 2024 after the coach was sacked.

“As long as you’re buying into the team values, you’re not late for training and you’re doing the right thing by the team, you can do whatever you like in your spare time, as long as it’s not disrupting or having a negative effect on the team.

“I always remember [former Broncos coach] Wayne Bennett was very simple around the rules: wear the right gear, don’t be late, stay out of jail. Simple. You don’t get to be as successful as I have if you’re soft – as a player, as a coach. I know I have a different look on things, but to say I’m soft or that I’m not hard enough on the players, I just laugh that off.”

Maguire’s philosophies came under fire at the start of the year as he struggled to ignite his side. The team, however, turned it around in the second half of the season on the back of an inspired stretch of form from Walsh.

The Broncos fullback produced a Jarryd Hayne-like end to the campaign and capped it off with a Clive Churchill Medal against the Storm in the grand final. It was a bittersweet moment for Walters.

“I will always support the Broncos,” Walters said. “Deep inside me there’s a connection there that will be never be broken. My son plays there and I have a strong relationship with a lot of those players. So I was really happy for them to win.

“Take out my situation, I was really happy for them to win. Happy for the club as well. They’ve been searching for that for a long time. It was really good for the club and for the players.”

Walters knows he’s fortunate to have the Kangaroos job after former coach Mal Meninga linked with the Perth Bears and Brad Fittler’s reluctance to take on the job as his successor.

Walters has led the Kangaroos to an Ashes triumph and wants to cap off his return to coaching with a series whitewash in Leeds on Saturday night. His ambition to coach in the NRL, however, still burns bright.

“My priority is to these colours right now,” he said. “When we get back to Australia, I’ll sit down with [ARL Commission chairman] Peter [V’landys] and [NRL CEO] Andrew [Abdo] and discuss the World Cup next year and whether or not I’d like to be coaching that. After that, who knows what happens?

“I definitely want to get back in the NRL at the right time with the right club. There will be some opportunities.”