OFFICIAL Kevin Walters Steps Down As Broncos Coach

Sproj said:
But man I'm sad for Kevvie, respect what he did last year and really feel like he's been massively let down for these prima donnas wearing the jersey, they should hang their heads in shame.

It is hard to move beyond him cracking though in the back end of this year under pressure.

I just feel sad.
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Sproj you summed it up perfectly for me. Kev brought back that old Broncos feeling again. He got the engine started because even though I will always be a fan I was definitely on idle for some time. Being at that last training session before the grand final last year with a number of old players, shaking his hand and wishing any player close by well will always stay with me.

This group owed him more than they gave this season (not in wins, I mean heart). Of course he is ultimately responsible for performance and we all thought he'd probably go whether it be now or next season but it played out very poorly. Sad indeed.
Sad Lonely GIF by Pokémon
 
Pigskin said:
Presser was short and sweet. Just a statement by both, no questions. Kevvie doing his best not to shed a tear. Whole thing was a nothing burger.

In other news, water is wet.
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Dave Donaghy took questions after Walters left
 
Luttsy:

“Kev has texted me this morning and he seems at least perceptibly upbeat, saying ‘onwards and upwards’, he’s looking forward to exciting new things, he said ‘I’m just getting started.”​
 
broncsgoat said:
Michael McGuire coached the tigers to a wooden spoon in 22 and they haven’t recovered since and got two more….


Yeah he’s the fucking answer
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I this is a bit too simplistic. The the timing was awful for Michael Maguire at the Tigers. For everyone singing the praises for Ivan Cleary at Penrith. He locked the Tigers into some bad contracts in the brief stint he was there as coach. Then left for the Penrith job, with Maguire left to pick up the pieces. Maguire then had to spend a couple years with some contracts waiting to expire. And it's a vicious cycle because the club is going to lose patience after a couple of losing seasons. There wasn't much left to sign for help to be brought in- compounding the problems it's unappealing to NRL free agents to join a losing team. The more losing the more pressure on the coach for a quick fix which was never going be the solution at the Tigers
 
Donuts:

said he and club bosses have had conversations over the past few weeks reflecting on the season and the challenges of being a coach, with all parties agreeing that the time was right for him to step down.​
​
“Everyone loves Kev. They love his personality and the passion he’s got for the organisation. In terms of the contents of the review, we’ll keep that in-house. Everyone in the organisation loves Kev and what he stands for. Through those discussions, both of us reached the point where there’s acceptance now’s the time to change.”​
​
“It was a week or two before the end of the season when I made those comments (support of the board, etc). At that point, that was my anticipation. It can be taxing and stressful being in any NRL or high performance environment. As we’ve had time to digest the season and look at plans moving forward, we’ve come to the acceptance it was time to part ways.”​
​
“We reached a decision collectively where we agreed and accepted that Kev’s time as head coach has come to an end. What I want to say on that is to single Kev out on the enormous contribution he’s made to our football club. Unless you’re in these four walls, I don’t think people see how much blood, sweat and toil goes into it. I think we can all understand and appreciate the genuine passion and love that Kev has for this football club. We see it every day and we know the toll it can take, and the significant pressure that does exist of being the head coach of the Broncos. We’re going to be forever indebted for the contribution that Kev has made. If I think back to when Kev joined us at the end of 2020, I can hand on heart say that he’s put a pulse back into the Broncos."​
​
“While he won’t continue as head coach, that connection will continue. Kev will remain an ambassador at the club, which I think is a really important connection for the Broncos and Kevin Walters."​
​
Kev:

“We have come to an agreement, the Broncos and Walters family, that my time as head coach has finished. My time here has been very joyful. A lot of my time here has been good, but everyone has their dry moments and moments where you learn and get better. That’s certainly been the case for me for the past four years. I’m really proud of the fact that when I arrived here, the club wasn’t in great shape. I feel that myself and a lot of other good staff here have shaped the club. The proudest moment was last year and the grand final with my son playing and the rest of my family in attendance. It was really nice. This year was a tough year for everyone including fans, sponsors and members. Stick with the club because it’s a great club, and I’m sure they’ll be back challenging again before too long. Unfortunately my time has finished here from a head coaching point of view.””​
​
Craig Fitzgibbon:
​
“Josh Hannay was in the frame for the Parramatta job as well so with respect, we hope that someday Josh does get an opportunity. He’s obviously a wonderful coach, did a terrific job with Queensland, and he does amazing work with us as do ‘DJ’ Holdsworth and Steve Price. We’ve got a really good coaching group. I’d love to keep them here, I’m not going to lie about that. I wish and hope he stays but I’d also understand if a club like Brisbane were in the running, he should be looking at that.”​
 
I hope Josh Hannay gets it, the Madge praise is craaaaaazy to me. Let’s build a future not a stop gap that might make us a top 4 team. Josh Hannay and Walker brothers as assistant. Than get an experienced defensive assistant
 
Maybe it's time to look at co coaches in the game again like Bennett & Sheens at the Raiders? Like Wane & Hannay or something along those lines.
 
The club has to be seriously considering Maguire, he's had success at Super League level, NRL level, State of Origin Level and International level, you don't fluke that, sure you make mistakes but you learn from those and clearly with that level of success you sure as hell have learnt plenty of things.

That amount of experience, time and success across the game, that is rare, I just don't understand how you turn your back on that and gamble on a rookie coach.
 
Evander said:
I hope Josh Hannay gets it, the Madge praise is craaaaaazy to me. Let’s build a future not a stop gap that might make us a top 4 team. Josh Hannay and Walker brothers as assistant. Than get an experienced defensive assistant
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I'm over rookie coaches. The club's too big to bring someone in without head coach experience. Just way too much pressure.
 
Webke:

“When did it become our way to do things like this? We went from being wooden spooners to seconds away from winning the grand final. None of us are happy with the season just gone, and particularly Kevin. But I think the smarter thing to do, and the right thing to do, would have been to let Kevvie coach next year. This year is the wake-up call that we needed. We’ve got a good, strong club again, a wonderful roster full of great players. The wake-up call will lead them to bigger and better things next year, and perhaps getting back to where we know they can be.”​
​
“It can’t be anything else but spin. The toll on family wouldn’t make Kevvie Walters step away. I promise you. Kevin’s known that the whole time he’s been a coach. It does smell like they’re trying to put nice pretty wallpaper over it and call it something that it’s not. Adam Reynolds was saying the players did not know. If that is true, that is the most unprofessional thing I reckon I’ve ever heard that club come up with.”​
​
“If I thought this was the right thing, if I thought sacking Kevvie was the right way to go, I’d support it because one thing we all know is none of us are bigger than the club. No players are, no ex-players are, no one is. So the good of the club has got to come first. I just don’t think that this serves the best interests of the club. I don’t think anyone wins out of this, and I think you could have achieved the same result in a very, very different way. Give it a chance and all the rest of it and then none of us would be having these conversations. That’s the right way to do it, that’s the right way to run a footy club. On the surface it looks like a kneejerk decision made by people who don’t understand what our club’s about, and what our game’s about.”​
 
McHunt said:
Webke:

“When did it become our way to do things like this? We went from being wooden spooners to seconds away from winning the grand final. None of us are happy with the season just gone, and particularly Kevin. But I think the smarter thing to do, and the right thing to do, would have been to let Kevvie coach next year. This year is the wake-up call that we needed. We’ve got a good, strong club again, a wonderful roster full of great players. The wake-up call will lead them to bigger and better things next year, and perhaps getting back to where we know they can be.”​
​
“It can’t be anything else but spin. The toll on family wouldn’t make Kevvie Walters step away. I promise you. Kevin’s known that the whole time he’s been a coach. It does smell like they’re trying to put nice pretty wallpaper over it and call it something that it’s not. Adam Reynolds was saying the players did not know. If that is true, that is the most unprofessional thing I reckon I’ve ever heard that club come up with.”​
​
“If I thought this was the right thing, if I thought sacking Kevvie was the right way to go, I’d support it because one thing we all know is none of us are bigger than the club. No players are, no ex-players are, no one is. So the good of the club has got to come first. I just don’t think that this serves the best interests of the club. I don’t think anyone wins out of this, and I think you could have achieved the same result in a very, very different way. Give it a chance and all the rest of it and then none of us would be having these conversations. That’s the right way to do it, that’s the right way to run a footy club. On the surface it looks like a kneejerk decision made by people who don’t understand what our club’s about, and what our game’s about.”​
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Guess we'll have all the Old boys coming out in defense of Kev. Webke is a smart man and he has a clue but clearly the review, from someone outside the club, showed that Kev didn't have control. It had to be damning.

I know he's your mate Webke but Walters could not honestly answer why his team was performing the way it was. He looked lost and he was clueless. You can't have that.
 
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