Scorchie
State of Origin Rep
- Mar 16, 2008
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THE EX Kevin Walters
- Thread starter theshed
- Start date
Manofoneway
NRL Captain
- May 22, 2022
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Hes my favorite bronco of all time. Second favorite coach behind the great wayne bennett
- Mar 26, 2008
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Kev being a little delusional trying to sell his reasons for letting Dearden go in today's CM.
Not buying the BS about letting him go for his own benefit.
Kev , you were the coach and one of the best halves to.play the game with 6 premierships but you didn't back yourself to coach the kid and turn his career around?
Didn't he have a responsibility to the Broncos, if he rated him, to try and get the best from him.
Can't wait for Kevs version of why he let Reece Walsh walk.
Not buying the BS about letting him go for his own benefit.
Kev , you were the coach and one of the best halves to.play the game with 6 premierships but you didn't back yourself to coach the kid and turn his career around?
Didn't he have a responsibility to the Broncos, if he rated him, to try and get the best from him.
Can't wait for Kevs version of why he let Reece Walsh walk.
nopatience101
NRL Captain
- Mar 4, 2008
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I vaguely remember hearing he talked to people in the game like Gus asking what he was missing with dearden given the hype he had.
Santa
State of Origin Captain
- Jun 30, 2020
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Didn't we just want to prioritise an experienced half over a kid i.e. getting Reynolds? Seemed to have worked out for us in the end.
Kevvie tried to put the genie back in the bottle and reverse engineer Dearden by him playing Cup and taking it slowly with him. Dearden started 21 in Cup and Kevvie took it slowly playing him off the bench, then back to Cup. But it was too late. I think Kev was trying to fix so many things team wise and environment wise for Dearden to come into a good team that Cowboys slipped in and got him and honestly it wouldn't have been a hard sell.
Kev only coached him for five games in 21 and then he signed with the Cowboys, Broncos got Reynolds and Broncos let Dearden go straight away.
I don't think Dearden was ever going to find his happy again at the Broncos, he'd had a terrible two years, and the place was a mess. Like Walsh with the Warriors, they timed it perfectly and told the player exactly what they needed and wanted to hear at the perfect time.
Kev only coached him for five games in 21 and then he signed with the Cowboys, Broncos got Reynolds and Broncos let Dearden go straight away.
I don't think Dearden was ever going to find his happy again at the Broncos, he'd had a terrible two years, and the place was a mess. Like Walsh with the Warriors, they timed it perfectly and told the player exactly what they needed and wanted to hear at the perfect time.
TimWhatley
QCup Player
- Dec 1, 2019
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Seems fair enough, I don't blame Kev for Dearden leaving. Tbh I still don't know what to think of him at club level. Always steps it up for origin but he's mostly just serviceable week to week. Maybe he needs a good halfback next to him to really excel. Love his defensive effort though.
Manofoneway
NRL Captain
- May 22, 2022
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Let it go mate. Just go back to loving kevy for the club legend that he is.
Santa
State of Origin Captain
- Jun 30, 2020
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That sounds dumb. Testing him out?
Xzei
State of Origin Rep
- Mar 13, 2017
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Probably thinking he will go for a head coaching gig for next year sure will be a few up for grabs for 2026
- Mar 26, 2008
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Good for you Kev. Brilliant news.
Hopefully this gets the thorn out of Gordies ballsack.
Kev is perfect for that position, a coaches job that doesn't require him to coach just be himself and bring the squad together.
I'd assume Alf will be suiting up with him.
Wonder if there will be a free trip for Gordie in it?
Billy could be the bolter to make the tour.
Hopefully this gets the thorn out of Gordies ballsack.
Kev is perfect for that position, a coaches job that doesn't require him to coach just be himself and bring the squad together.
I'd assume Alf will be suiting up with him.
Wonder if there will be a free trip for Gordie in it?
Billy could be the bolter to make the tour.
Broncapz
NRL Captain
- May 1, 2016
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Hope not. The only head coach positions available are for basket case of clubs and you know he's got a hard on for Queenslanders. Hes gonna poach like crazy.
Big Pete
International Captain
- Mar 12, 2008
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I don't think fans remember just how bad things were when Kevie took over. Not only was the playing roster a mess but the club didn't have a CEO because Melbourne were dragging their heels over Donaghy.
It was a turbulent time for the club. Andrew McCullough, Joe Ofahengaue and Jack Bird were all released from their contracts and it was no secret that Walters didn't want Matt Lodge around.
Walters was trying to make the best of the situation, but with so many young players it was difficult to do. Especially when these young players were publically meeting with opposition clubs to help drive up their prices.
Granted, Walters could have handled things better. The talk heading into 2021 was that the Broncos would have a halves pairing of Milford and Dearden. However at the 11th hour after some patchy trial form, Walters opted for Milford and Croft. This would come back to hurt the Broncos as Brodie bombed what would have been the match winning try in a huge upset against Parramatta.
Meanwhile because the NRL and QRL seasons aren't aligned, Dearden wouldn't get an opportunity to press his claims until Round 2. Tom scored two tries against Burleigh in a big win for Souths Logan. The word from Tom's camp is that unless he was considered for NRL, he'd request his release.
Walters compromised and initially picked him off the bench before giving him a start. It was really poor business all-round and Tom played the worst football of his career. That was his audition and with the Broncos trying to manage their salary cap and figure out who's coming and who's going, allowed Tommy to take his deal up with North Queensland.
Tom would continue to play poorly up at the Cowboys until a Round 24 win against the Dragons. Since then he's gone from strength to strength and he's done well to make the decision look poor in hindsight. However I think it's important to remember the context and that it was his camp that brought this ahead.
They try to paint themselves like the Broncos threw him to the curb when they already had one foot planted firmly out the door.
It was a turbulent time for the club. Andrew McCullough, Joe Ofahengaue and Jack Bird were all released from their contracts and it was no secret that Walters didn't want Matt Lodge around.
Walters was trying to make the best of the situation, but with so many young players it was difficult to do. Especially when these young players were publically meeting with opposition clubs to help drive up their prices.
Granted, Walters could have handled things better. The talk heading into 2021 was that the Broncos would have a halves pairing of Milford and Dearden. However at the 11th hour after some patchy trial form, Walters opted for Milford and Croft. This would come back to hurt the Broncos as Brodie bombed what would have been the match winning try in a huge upset against Parramatta.
Meanwhile because the NRL and QRL seasons aren't aligned, Dearden wouldn't get an opportunity to press his claims until Round 2. Tom scored two tries against Burleigh in a big win for Souths Logan. The word from Tom's camp is that unless he was considered for NRL, he'd request his release.
Walters compromised and initially picked him off the bench before giving him a start. It was really poor business all-round and Tom played the worst football of his career. That was his audition and with the Broncos trying to manage their salary cap and figure out who's coming and who's going, allowed Tommy to take his deal up with North Queensland.
Tom would continue to play poorly up at the Cowboys until a Round 24 win against the Dragons. Since then he's gone from strength to strength and he's done well to make the decision look poor in hindsight. However I think it's important to remember the context and that it was his camp that brought this ahead.
They try to paint themselves like the Broncos threw him to the curb when they already had one foot planted firmly out the door.
- Jan 25, 2014
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We needed an experienced halfback and a leader. Dearden wasn't providing that.
Look at Reyno's comments about when he first came to the club, the footy IQ in this side was in the ****ing shitter. We needed Reyno.
It's easy to criticize the decision to release Dearden now, but at the time he was looking like damaged goods and didn't look like the guy that was going to take us forward. Unfortunately, crystal balls don't exist.
Honestly though, even if you could know for certainty that he was going to eventually become a good player and QLD halfback, I still would have let him go.
Like I said, we needed Reyno.
Look at Reyno's comments about when he first came to the club, the footy IQ in this side was in the ****ing shitter. We needed Reyno.
It's easy to criticize the decision to release Dearden now, but at the time he was looking like damaged goods and didn't look like the guy that was going to take us forward. Unfortunately, crystal balls don't exist.
Honestly though, even if you could know for certainty that he was going to eventually become a good player and QLD halfback, I still would have let him go.
Like I said, we needed Reyno.
