The silence is deafening from the old boys

[Kaz]

criticising Kevin Walters' coaching.

They all had the pitchforks burning for Sebold & wanted their mate Kevin as coach.

Well he is coach & IMO, we are getting worse & not a peep out of Tallis, Renouf etc.

 

[LGH]

Yeah, have to agree. They’ve been vocal about plenty of the previous coaches and were especially vocal about Seibold but when it comes to Kevvie it’s all “It’s a bigger job than expected” or just general griping about recruitment, but nothing about Kevvie’s coaching or the dismal performances.

 

[Maroon4life]

criticising Kevin Walters' coaching.

They all had the pitchforks burning for Sebold & wanted their mate Kevin as coach.

Well he is coach & IMO, we are getting worse & not a peep out of Tallis, Renouf etc.

Was to be expected though. Some of these more outspoken old boys probably don’t give a shit about the clubs success it’s more so that their mates can get an earn from the game still.

The clubs in no better state than it was last year under Gentle/Seibold. Media and old boys are just happy that KW got looked after.

 

[lynx000]

The djfficulty is that there really are only three or four coaches that are worth feeding. Clearly Robinson and Bellamy are the cream of the crop. Below them now is Bennett based on his record from the last 11 years. You could make a case for either Hasler or Cleary (more the former than the latter) to be included in the group. Des has runs on the board in terms of winning premierships and getting teams to grand finals. Cleary is still in the undecided category in my view.

If we are to move Kev on, it can only be for someone that has a genuine claim to improve the side. We aren't ever getting Bellamy. I can't see how we could prise Robinson out of the Roosters, Bennett now has a very limited shelf life. Do we take a risk on another rookie coach. There is no stand out that screams pick me from the current crop.

The dearth of quality coaches is quite disturbing. That leaves Shane Flanagan as the only apparent viable option.

 

[Huge]

criticising Kevin Walters' coaching.

They all had the pitchforks burning for Sebold & wanted their mate Kevin as coach.

Well he is coach & IMO, we are getting worse & not a peep out of Tallis, Renouf etc.

Mmmmmmm, maybe. I don't believe anyone thinks a half season is enough time and perhaps that's why they're holding off. Also, the old boys may know a lot more about deeper problems, obstacles and issues than we do and are giving KW much greater latitude as a result.

 

[Jedhead]

We all agree half a season is not enough to judge a coach. Kevvie though has coached elsewhere for more than half a season and should not be making the stupid errors he’s making at present. Letting Welsh go is debatable, but things like his putrid understanding of bench rotation and his failure to realise the importance of stability in positions on the field cannot be brushed aside as rookie coach errors. Him and his coaching staff have seriously dropped the ball there.

Standing up for your players publicly (even risking a fine) to show solidarity with them has also been sadly lacking. I’m beginning to have my doubts about him. Dropping some players and retaining others when neither made sense is another glaring sign of his ineptitude. He is truly beginning to hang himself. Shit roster or not. Anyone worth their salt should have their team coached to execute line speed while defending. We still, as a team are completely unaware what this concept even means.

 

[McHunt]

Realistically, Kevvie is not going to be sacked this season.

I don't think anyone genuinely wants that. Not because he needs more time to find his feet, but because it would be extremely bad for the club to go down that path right now.

Let's be honest: none of us expected him to be much of a coach. We all hoped he would be, but it was never about that. It was about hitting a reset on a club culture that's lost its way. It was about building a bridge back to the glory days. Sacking him now would not be draining the swamp. He would be yet another fall guy in a conga line of fall guys that started with Bennett leaving in 2009.

This season is about throwing every piece of shit against the wall to see if anything sticks. So far, it doesn't look like much. But you can only get so far with sacking as a solution. At some point you have to replace with better. That hasn't happened this season. Except maybe for Donuts, and there is a glimmer of hope in Reynolds. Or he could be the next Darius Boyd, turning up for his last paycheck.

Not identifying Reece Walsh, debasing ourselves over Nicho Hynes and now flailing dickless with Isaako in the ISC is an all time low in the all the years I've been watching the Broncos. And that's from the first game against Manly in 1988, and through the next couple of years when fans were calling for Wayne Bennett's head.

We have now reached the point where Kevvie is fair game for criticism. His goodwill honeymoon is over. But the club needs to navigate the rest of his contract gracefully and not tarnish its golden years by shitting in what's left of its nest.

If I were Donuts, around about now, I'd be deciding whether Kevvie is worth the perseverance, but I wouldn't be looking at sacking him. I'd be shuffling the deck beneath and above him, by replacing all his support staff and, if possible, bringing back Wayne Bennett in a grandfather role. I would be installing potential successors beneath him. That might be someone like Cameron Smith.

Make no mistake: killing off Kevvie at this point would be killing off the old club while keeping the current one. Careful what you wish for.

 

[broncoscope]

Has anyone else thought maybe Adrian Lam would be worth a shot.
I think he's travelling ok over in the superleague , albeit it's not the NRL.
HE is a Queenslander after all even though he has never been aligned with the Broncos.

 

[Sproj]

Has anyone else thought maybe Adrian Lam would be worth a shot.
I think he's travelling ok over in the superleague , albeit it's not the NRL.
HE is a Queenslander after all even though he has never been aligned with the Broncos.

Yes he could be worth a shot, he’s gone well over there and seems quite competent. He has also come through a lot of good systems as a player and a coach.

 

[BroncosFever]

Has anyone else thought maybe Adrian Lam would be worth a shot.
I think he's travelling ok over in the superleague , albeit it's not the NRL.
HE is a Queenslander after all even though he has never been aligned with the Broncos.

Kevvie did well over there too.

I don't see anyone around who is an obvious improvement as a coach and we all know that if nothing else Kevvie understands the club.

It's a tough one, at times as a fan it's hard to cop but then you think who can we replace him with and there aren't many options, it'd be another case of bringing in someone relatively untried.

 

[broncoscope]

Yep , i'd be willing to give him a shot, just not sure how he'd adapt to the NRL.
I'm still for giving Kev longer but the gloss is definately starting to wear off and my confidence in him is waning.

 

[007]

The damage that's been done will take time to unwind. There is clearly a horrible balance of mental fortitude, it is not a talent issue. It's been something that's crept into the side since even WB was in his last year here. As bad as Siebold was, 3 different coaches cant all be wrong. IMO Kevvie has done better than Seibs so far. I don't think Seibold ever had a chance coming after WB in hindsight.

The scary part is those type of players don't turn their career around quick unless something drastic happens, and the longer the impact on the team they have the harder it is to get rid of that sort of toxicity.

As to who is responsible i don't know, but the best place to start looking is of players that have roller-coaster performances.

 

[theshed]

Realistically, Kevvie is not going to be sacked this season.

I don't think anyone genuinely wants that. Not because he needs more time to find his feet, but because it would be extremely bad for the club to go down that path right now.

Let's be honest: none of us expected him to be much of a coach. We all hoped he would be, but it was never about that. It was about hitting a reset on a club culture that's lost its way. It was about building a bridge back to the glory days. Sacking him now would not be draining the swamp. He would be yet another fall guy in a conga line of fall guys that started with Bennett leaving in 2009.

This season is about throwing every piece of shit against the wall to see if anything sticks. So far, it doesn't look like much. But you can only get so far with sacking as a solution. At some point you have to replace with better. That hasn't happened this season. Except maybe for Donuts, and there is a glimmer of hope in Reynolds. Or he could be the next Darius Boyd, turning up for his last paycheck.

Not identifying Reece Walsh, debasing ourselves over Nicho Hynes and now flailing dickless with Isaako in the ISC is an all time low in the all the years I've been watching the Broncos. And that's from the first game against Manly in 1988, and through the next couple of years when fans were calling for Wayne Bennett's head.

We have now reached the point where Kevvie is fair game for criticism. His goodwill honeymoon is over. But the club needs to navigate the rest of his contract gracefully and not tarnish its golden years by shitting in what's left of its nest.

If I were Donuts, around about now, I'd be deciding whether Kevvie is worth the perseverance, but I wouldn't be looking at sacking him. I'd be shuffling the deck beneath and above him, by replacing all his support staff and, if possible, bringing back Wayne Bennett in a grandfather role. I would be installing potential successors beneath him. That might be someone like Cameron Smith.

Make no mistake: killing off Kevvie at this point would be killing off the old club while keeping the current one. Careful what you wish for.

Yeah sometimes I like to carry on for the fun of it but this post basically sums up my actual feelings on the coaching situation fairly bang on. I’m still optimistic that the club has enough money to bring in the best possible support team around Kev, and for all his faults Kev seems to actually have the clubs best interest at heart and appears willing to accept any help the club sees fit. I just hope the club is appointing the right people going forward, and that includes flicking Kev if a vast improvement became available.

 

[Midean]

To be fair, Tallis has been defending the Broncos all year.
The complete opposite to every other year before Kev was coach.

Instead of shitting on us, he has been using excuses (no leaders/experience/young side/rebuild phase) etc etc.

But yes, the silence is deafening otherwise.

 

[Gaz]

Why has the richest NRL Club got the wooden spoon?
Maybe the old boys can answer that. I'm sure Karl would know. But not much coming from that end of town either.

 

[The Strapper]

Why has the richest NRL Club got the wooden spoon?
Maybe the old boys can answer that. I'm sure Karl would know. But not much coming from that end of town either.

Not that complicated in my view.
Roster/List/Recruitment/Succession Planning mismanagement.
A lot of the numpties responsible for that are still at the club so the rebuild is going to take longer than it should.

 

[Sproj]

Why has the richest NRL Club got the wooden spoon?
Maybe the old boys can answer that. I'm sure Karl would know. But not much coming from that end of town either.

Karl wouldn't know anything, to busy renovating his super mansion that is thoroughly undeserved and watching Manly games.

 

[broncsgoat]

Look at the team Pies took over and look at the one Kevvie took over - there has to be more of an element of lee-way when you think about it like this.