OFFICIAL Ikin to depart Broncos

Factual though
It is factual. I wouldn't read into the media hype on this, there is probably no real fracture between ikin and the club. Lets not forget he was short-listed for the Broncos CEO spot as well and lost out narrowly to DD. It sounds like he and Kevy were instrumental in our roster reshape. Ikin for moving on some of our bad players and kevy for going after the likes of Adam reynolds. I'm sure it was all a team effort and they wouldn't have achieved what they did if they hated each other. Goodluck to Ikin, I think we owe him our thanks for what he has accomplished.
 
I do wonder why he is leaving now we are having some success though.
Odd time to depart, particularly if you are part of the reason we are seeing some success.
 
I do wonder why he is leaving now we are having some success though.
Odd time to depart, particularly if you are part of the reason we are seeing some success.

Sawyer stepped down as QRL CEO in February- Moore has been filling in until the job was filled. Ikin can't control when the job was there for him.

I imagine ideally yes QRL job becomes open in October, and you get it and move.
 
I do find it a bit of a contradiction to claim that Ikin is responsible for the broncos success and in the next breath suggest he was never given much influence and that’s why he’s leaving.

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
 
So from what I've heard, Ben Ikin was basically doing Steve Walters' old job since he left. And we are looking for a replacement for that job specifically, not a head of football role as there's enough cooks in the kitchen with Walters, Donaghy and the coaching staff he has on.
 
So from what I've heard, Ben Ikin was basically doing Steve Walters' old job since he left. And we are looking for a replacement for that job specifically, not a head of football role as there's enough cooks in the kitchen with Walters, Donaghy and the coaching staff he has on.
And there's no hard feelings. Ikin was always waiting for something more and this job wouldn't have come up again for a while. Broncos gave their blessing.
 
So from what I've heard, Ben Ikin was basically doing Steve Walters' old job since he left. And we are looking for a replacement for that job specifically, not a head of football role as there's enough cooks in the kitchen with Walters, Donaghy and the coaching staff he has on.

Yeah it’s basically became a football manager role.

Joe McDermott from QRL is favourite for the role at the Broncos.
 
@McHunt bit of an interview with ikin on the CM if ya feel like paraphrasing it not a bad read
 
Ikin:

“I want to make rugby league accessible to more people in Queensland and those that do come into the sport fall in love with it and have a lifelong journey, as I have. Winning Origin in the next few months, that’s the main priority for me. It’s very important to retain Slater. Anyone who has had anything to do with Billy gets the sense pretty quickly that he has a very sharp mind. He has taken to the Origin coaching role very quickly. Once this series is done, in consultation with the board, we will move into negotiations with Billy and hope he is as keen as we are to continue the partnership."​
“I hope Billy stays with us. We have to convince him that coaching Queensland is the right path for him in the short term and if at some point on that journey he develops ambitions to coach in the NRL, then we will do our best to support those ambitions.”​
“Coach development is a whole-of-game issue, not just Queensland. The role of the coach cannot be understated, so we will be pouring part of our budget and our time into making sure there is good depth in the coaching ranks for our purposes at the QRL. We have two old fellas who sit in the background in Wayne Bennett and Mal Meninga, who are ready to pick up the slack if there’s a gap. That’s been a discussion more recently at the board level which will find its way into my world about how we shore up those candidates so that succession planning around that very important role is well and truly taken care of.”​
“It was difficult to leave the Broncos. But between myself, the head coach and the CEO ... Kevvie and Dave were constantly in conversations with me about how we were going to get the program into shape when we came together in 2021 to give the players the experience to be the best they could. There was a lot of good work done over the two years. When Kevvie took over, the Broncos were coming off a wooden spoon and they sit in the top four at the moment."​
“This QRL CEO role came along, both Dave and Kevvie knew I had a deep passion for the QRL and my first instinct was to stick. But in more conversations with Kevvie and Dave, I felt comfortable that they were comfortable I could pursue this role. One thing I have learned about high-performing organisations, it’s less important what you stand for - it’s more important that everybody stands for the same thing.”​
“Kevvie and I challenged each other, absolutely. And I have no doubt that because we weren’t prepared to operate in an echo-chamber, there were some really honest conversations about what needed to happen. It’s a big reason why the Broncos are where they are now. We were able to delineate between work and a cafe where we meet most mornings. Personal conversations were personal conversations, but when we got to work our job was to challenge each other ... because if you don’t do that, if you don’t push the boundaries, if you don’t have honest, robust debate then you keep doing what you have always been doing."​
“That wasn’t good enough for the Broncos. We leave on great terms. Kevvie and I remain great friends. We won a premiership together in 2000. He wished me all the best and I think we all agree that the Broncos of 2023 under his guidance and leadership are in a really good spot.”​
“NRL national reserve grade is just a silly, nostalgic thought bubble. It died for a reason. As the female game grows, then there has to be a space on the schedule for a women’s game that is getting better and better every year. Last year’s State of Origin men’s team in Game One had played a total of 394 Queensland Cup games."​
“Last year’s Dally M Medallist, Nicho Hynes, was cast out of the NRL and spent two years at Mackay Cutters. That’s how he found his way back in to be the player we all admire today. Talk to Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Cameron Smith who played in the Queensland Cup. National reserve grade would diminish that significantly. From our perspective, it’s never been on the table. It’s a silly idea. It should not be entertained.”​
“The 2024 NRL season in Las Vegas? Seriously ... can I be a fan of it after we see how it unfolds? I love Peter V'landys' energy. He has big ideas and it’s been proven with the push in Magic Round and celebrating that, some of the changes he has made to the game, that’s his wheelhouse. He is a big thinker, a big dreamer and he drives the game hard to be better. But I take a more slow and steady approach. I am sure there is some merit behind it, but once we see the details and why they are going to do it and why it would benefit from the broader game and we get to see the actual product, then I can get excited.”​
 
Ikin:

“I want to make rugby league accessible to more people in Queensland and those that do come into the sport fall in love with it and have a lifelong journey, as I have. Winning Origin in the next few months, that’s the main priority for me. It’s very important to retain Slater. Anyone who has had anything to do with Billy gets the sense pretty quickly that he has a very sharp mind. He has taken to the Origin coaching role very quickly. Once this series is done, in consultation with the board, we will move into negotiations with Billy and hope he is as keen as we are to continue the partnership."​
“I hope Billy stays with us. We have to convince him that coaching Queensland is the right path for him in the short term and if at some point on that journey he develops ambitions to coach in the NRL, then we will do our best to support those ambitions.”​
“Coach development is a whole-of-game issue, not just Queensland. The role of the coach cannot be understated, so we will be pouring part of our budget and our time into making sure there is good depth in the coaching ranks for our purposes at the QRL. We have two old fellas who sit in the background in Wayne Bennett and Mal Meninga, who are ready to pick up the slack if there’s a gap. That’s been a discussion more recently at the board level which will find its way into my world about how we shore up those candidates so that succession planning around that very important role is well and truly taken care of.”​
“It was difficult to leave the Broncos. But between myself, the head coach and the CEO ... Kevvie and Dave were constantly in conversations with me about how we were going to get the program into shape when we came together in 2021 to give the players the experience to be the best they could. There was a lot of good work done over the two years. When Kevvie took over, the Broncos were coming off a wooden spoon and they sit in the top four at the moment."​
“This QRL CEO role came along, both Dave and Kevvie knew I had a deep passion for the QRL and my first instinct was to stick. But in more conversations with Kevvie and Dave, I felt comfortable that they were comfortable I could pursue this role. One thing I have learned about high-performing organisations, it’s less important what you stand for - it’s more important that everybody stands for the same thing.”​
“Kevvie and I challenged each other, absolutely. And I have no doubt that because we weren’t prepared to operate in an echo-chamber, there were some really honest conversations about what needed to happen. It’s a big reason why the Broncos are where they are now. We were able to delineate between work and a cafe where we meet most mornings. Personal conversations were personal conversations, but when we got to work our job was to challenge each other ... because if you don’t do that, if you don’t push the boundaries, if you don’t have honest, robust debate then you keep doing what you have always been doing."​
“That wasn’t good enough for the Broncos. We leave on great terms. Kevvie and I remain great friends. We won a premiership together in 2000. He wished me all the best and I think we all agree that the Broncos of 2023 under his guidance and leadership are in a really good spot.”​
“NRL national reserve grade is just a silly, nostalgic thought bubble. It died for a reason. As the female game grows, then there has to be a space on the schedule for a women’s game that is getting better and better every year. Last year’s State of Origin men’s team in Game One had played a total of 394 Queensland Cup games."​
“Last year’s Dally M Medallist, Nicho Hynes, was cast out of the NRL and spent two years at Mackay Cutters. That’s how he found his way back in to be the player we all admire today. Talk to Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Cameron Smith who played in the Queensland Cup. National reserve grade would diminish that significantly. From our perspective, it’s never been on the table. It’s a silly idea. It should not be entertained.”​
“The 2024 NRL season in Las Vegas? Seriously ... can I be a fan of it after we see how it unfolds? I love Peter V'landys' energy. He has big ideas and it’s been proven with the push in Magic Round and celebrating that, some of the changes he has made to the game, that’s his wheelhouse. He is a big thinker, a big dreamer and he drives the game hard to be better. But I take a more slow and steady approach. I am sure there is some merit behind it, but once we see the details and why they are going to do it and why it would benefit from the broader game and we get to see the actual product, then I can get excited.”​
cant help but think QRL is in good hands
 
I like that Ikin has flagged coaching pathways as a key issue.

If you improve coaching across the competition you improve the players, improving the quality of the comp, but also having qld players coming into NRL ready to go.
 

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