Another day, Badel putting out another rehashed article in the courier mail. Blokes a parasite.
LOL. Trigger warning: look away now if you can't handle the news cycle promoting our game.
Bennett:
“We have been on a long, long journey and Kevvie knows how I feel about him. I still remember the conversation I had with him in 2005. It wasn’t pleasant. I said to Kevin, ‘You aren’t going to get any better being with me, you need to go to other places and learn other things and work with other coaches’. He got those life experiences we all need and you don’t get them when you want to stay in a comfort zone."
“I told Kevin he needed to take himself out of the comfort zone at the Broncos. He was great friends with Craig Bellamy (Melbourne coach), so he did the hard yards as a coach. He went to France, Ipswich and came back and worked for the Storm. Then he came back and helped me in my last year at Newcastle."
“It was a tough season in 2014 at the Knights, then I went back to the Broncos (in 2015) and I felt it was the right time for Kevin to come back. We made the grand final at the Broncos the following year (2015). Even when he went to coach the Queensland team the next season (in 2016), I supported him enormously to get that job. I’ve always said, ‘Have the courage to follow your dreams’ and Kevvie has made a lot of sacrifices to get to where is now as coach of the Broncos.”
“There is no issue. I am proud of Kevin and always will be. Kevin will always be my friend and I will always be there for him. Have we always agreed on things? No we haven’t, but we have been great friends and we have done some remarkable things together. We’ve got a long history together."
“I saw Kevin play as a kid. I remember going to Ipswich one night, I saw Kevin, ‘Alf’ and Kerrod Walters all play together in a game and I couldn’t believe how good they were. They were 16 and 17. They were just outstanding."
“Alfie got a lot of the headlines at the Broncos because he was a genius, but Kevin Walters was a bloody wonderful player."
“He did anything for the team. He never resented any selection decision I made. He was so team oriented it didn’t matter and, as a coach, that’s what he has brought to the Broncos team today. Kevin’s mantra is that everything is for the team. He had a long-term goal to coach the Broncos and while he went through some pain to get there, it’s a credit to him that he got the job and he’s now in the third season there.”
“We still talk occasionally. I wouldn’t say we lean on each other. He wouldn’t lean on me too much (laughs). He doesn’t come to me for too much advice and I don’t go to him.”
“Kevin is a very caring person. “He has had to battle through personal tragedy to get where he has got to in coaching and his football career as well."
“We play each other on Friday night but it won’t be about me or Kevin. Neither of us are those type of blokes. We have done too much together. We have been through a lot of battles together over a long period of time."
“We are just two coaches out there doing our job. It won’t be about him and it won’t be about me. It will be about the two teams we are coaching and that’s it. We will always be friends and that will never not be the case with us.”
Walters:
“I can only speak on our behalf and Wayne and I are still mates. There won’t be any animosity. There’ll be a lot of pride from both camps. That’s no different to any other week and what we’ve seen from both clubs in the opening rounds. There’s plenty to play for, regardless of who the opposition is.”