NEWS Walters' record compares with early Broncos: Maranta

Founding Brisbane Broncos chairman Barry Maranta has hit out at critics of coach Kevin Walters and says his first four seasons at the helm compare favourably with the initial four years of the club.

Walters has been savaged for missing finals for the third time in four seasons under his stewardship but founding coach Wayne Bennett had the same record from 1988-1991 before winning the first of his six titles.

"When we targeted Bennett we gave him five years to get us into a grand final. The team we delivered for him initially was a virtual State of Origin side," Maranta told AAP.

"We got into a grand final and won it (in 1992) in the fifth year.

"What I want to point out is that Kevin has had four years as coach and got us into a grand final in the third (in 2023) without the playing staff that we had then. No other Broncos coach has done that.

"The expectations have got quite stupid and the critics want to crucify Kevvie but people that don't understand history go off on a tangent and it doesn't help in any way."

Walters has been the subject of an online newspaper poll where the majority of respondents said he should be sacked. That won't happen as the club CEO Dave Donaghy has publicly stated. Maranta does not believe sacking coaches is the answer to the club's issues when they are performing poorly.

He put his money where his mouth is back in 1991 when the cacophony of external noise to sack Bennett was at its loudest.

"It was a Sunday night and we had just been beaten and I went home and was watching Channel 10," Maranta recalled.

"They were running a poll where they were asking people if they wanted Bennett sacked.

"I rang our media guy and I said, 'tell everyone in the media that I am going to make a statement on Monday'.

"Monday was the day Bennett used to talk to all the rugby league writers but instead of the usual four or five the whole place was chock-a-block with 30 or 40 media from every channel and outlet."

Maranta said Bennett's "eyes nearly popped out" but he told him not to worry as he fronted the press, who were expecting him to announce that the coach would be punted.

"I then made the statement, 'Thank you for attending. We have just extended Wayne's contract as coach for another five years'. That blew them all away," Maranta said.

Bennett, already on contract for 1992, won that year and added two more titles (1993 and 1997) in that period.

Maranta is convinced Walters will lead the Broncos to title glory and said calls for him to be sacked were just as out of order as the push for Bennett to be axed.

"I know Kevin is a Bronco through and through. He's had four or five different coaching jobs and has learned under Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bennett," Maranta said.

"He has done all the learning process and I know him as a serious competitor and someone that doesn't put up with mediocrity.

"Kevin understands our Broncos culture and that is significant when you appoint people."

Canberra Times

 

[Nashy]

There is a lot to be said for loyalty.
And pretty funny that the guy you say cant coach got us to a grand final.

But hey, lets just all keep blaming Kev and hold no players accountable, sounds like a good idea.
And while we are at it, lets just churn through coach after coach after coach and not build any stability at the club because you know, **** loyalty and everything the Broncos built their club on.
And while we are at it, lets hire the NSW ORIGIN coach to take over the reigns! Wicked idea!

**** it, lets change the Broncos jersey color to blue while we are throwing loyalty under the bus and hiring NSW ORIGIN coaches to run our club.
QUICK BOYS! Lets make panic decisions!
First order of business!
FIRE THE GUY WHO TOOK US FROM THE SPOON TO A GRAND FINAL!

Fucking bonkers this place has become on the back of a INJURY RIDDLED SEASON!

Cant even believe half the bullshit i read on these forums these days.
Funny how Seibold can take a team to the finals, BUT HEY! LETS KEEP BLAMING THE COACH!

I wonder if the players might be responsible just a little bit, for not making the finals this year?

Maybe, just maybe (and by all accounts), we have a team of prima donnas who march to their own drum, both before and after Kev arrived at the club.
Supported by a network that overpays certain players and lets go of ones we should probably keep.
Kev may not be the best coach in the comp, but he is a diehard Bronco through and through and has done enough with what he inherited to warrant more time at the helm.

Fairweather fans keep braying about how we missed the finals 3 out of 4 years, as though we were supposed to magically make the finals with the roster and cap space he inherited from the previous establishment.
There is a rebuilding phase, and there is time for Kev to make the team the way he wants it and unfortunately we suffered a string of injuries to key positions for well over half the season ( the stats say we are the third most impacted team by injury this year).
The fact we didn't finish bottom four with most of our spine out at one point or another is not a bad effort in itself.

But im done on this topic now.
You are all so hellbent on laying blame with the coach that there is no point trying to highlight other reasons we didnt make the eight.

Mate, 1 good year in his entire career doesn't make a good coach. It's the same old shitty argument that dud teams throw out when they hold onto their shit coaches.

It's the bosses job to get their people engaged in their work. If they are not engaged, or performing, you performance manage the employee.

Stop calling me, and those who dare criticise fucking fairweather fans. You're only able to post such absolute bullshit because I'm not a fairweather fan and I have stuck with this team. Pull your fucking head out.

 

[Big Pete]

Did we have structure last year?

Firstly, welcome back mate.

To answer your question, yes through Flegler and Capewell who brought different points of attack and were sorely missed this year.

Capewell was always handy for that second man tap on play and Flegler had a great draw and pass that used to buy Reynolds an acreage of space.

To be clear, I'm not saying the Broncos attack in 2023 hinged on a prop forward and a second row. Just that they were sorely missed and there was more pressure on Reynolds, Carrigan and Walsh to provide for the Broncos.

I agree that the players don't understand their roles or why they're doing certain things. They just do what they've been told and then clock off which you can't do at this level. Like big Payne Haas, a freak of an athlete, makes 10m but then loses the ruck.

 

[Cult]

I've pointed it out before, look at some of the posts @Dazza 92 put up in 2023, there was some clear and very effective structure, it was impressive. This whole revisionist individual brilliance / we fluked it thing has crept in this season because things have gone badly. It doesn't change the fact we had some fantastic structure in 2023, why it disappeared this year is the real question I want answered.

I don’t really agree. We had some structure, sure, and like I said, I think that was because of Reynolds and the fact our forwards were winning battles so we could play with the ball. I’m not sure how much of that was trained into them or just a few really talented blokes having fun behind a really dominant forward pack who gave them space.

What we do agree on is that it was very different in 2024. Injuries definitely played a part but we still had a good team on the field for most of the year. We were bashed every week in the forwards and the backs. It was like we brought in blokes who weren’t even at the training sessions together

 

[mitch222]

Mate, 1 good year in his entire career doesn't make a good coach. It's the same old shitty argument that dud teams throw out when they hold onto their shit coaches.

It's the bosses job to get their people engaged in their work. If they are not engaged, or performing, you performance manage the employee.

Stop calling me, and those who dare criticise fucking fairweather fans. You're only able to post such absolute bullshit because I'm not a fairweather fan and I have stuck with this team. Pull your fucking head out.

I think the 1 good year title is rubbish. Kev has overseen a full rebuild from when he inherited the side. Remember he took over when were at the lowest of the lows coming from a wooden spoon. If you look at past clubs like the Tigers, Bulldogs, Knights, Parramatta etc, it can often take 4-5 years to bounce back from winning a spoon to build into a proper contender again. It took Kev realistically 18 months to do that (save from the slide that happened at the back end of 2022). What needs to be recognized now is that Kev has built this team into a team that we expect big things from now. Back in 2022 when he took over, we were more worried about not getting another wooden spoon.
This season is absolutely a failure, but Kevs tenure as coach is actually pretty successful when you match him up against other coaches that have inherited spoon teams and how long it has taken them to drag them out of the gutter.

 

[Cult]

Firstly, welcome back mate.

To answer your question, yes through Flegler and Capewell who brought different points of attack and were sorely missed this year.

Capewell was always handy for that second man tap on play and Flegler had a great draw and pass that used to buy Reynolds an acreage of space.

To be clear, I'm not saying the Broncos attack in 2023 hinged on a prop forward and a second row. Just that they were sorely missed and there was more pressure on Reynolds, Carrigan and Walsh to provide for the Broncos.

I agree that the players don't understand their roles or why they're doing certain things. They just do what they've been told and then clock off which you can't do at this level. Like big Payne Haas, a freak of an athlete, makes 10m but then loses the ruck.

I’ve been working with a few coaches this year and have had some really in depth conversations about the roles certain Broncos play. When I have the time (I actually have plenty of it at the moment), I’ll try break it down. Will be interesting to see where BHQ stands on a few things and what roles they’ll want players to have

 

[ningnangnong]

Despite our dominance last year, a big concern I always had was our inability to 'play the percentages'.

We'd always want to score off every play, no matter where we were on the field, what the scoreline was, etc.

Sometimes that's okay, and I'm all for being ruthless, but I think that was our downfall in the end. There was a lack of focus on the 'boring' stuff, and managing teams out of games.

I have a lot more to say about it, but typing with one hand is giving me the shits.

 

[Nashy]

I think the 1 good year title is rubbish. Kev has overseen a full rebuild from when he inherited the side. Remember he took over when were at the lowest of the lows coming from a wooden spoon. If you look at past clubs like the Tigers, Bulldogs, Knights, Parramatta etc, it can often take 4-5 years to bounce back from winning a spoon to build into a proper contender again. It took Kev realistically 18 months to do that (save from the slide that happened at the back end of 2022). What needs to be recognized now is that Kev has built this team into a team that we expect big things from now. Back in 2022 when he took over, we were more worried about not getting another wooden spoon.
This season is absolutely a failure, but Kevs tenure as coach is actually pretty successful when you match him up against other coaches that have inherited spoon teams and how long it has taken them to drag them out of the gutter.

Look at his career stats as a coach. He's a bottom feeder.

 

[Midean]

Mate, 1 good year in his entire career doesn't make a good coach. It's the same old shitty argument that dud teams throw out when they hold onto their shit coaches.

It's the bosses job to get their people engaged in their work. If they are not engaged, or performing, you performance manage the employee.

Stop calling me, and those who dare criticise fucking fairweather fans. You're only able to post such absolute bullshit because I'm not a fairweather fan and I have stuck with this team. Pull your fucking head out.

Criticise all you want, I didn't hear any of this criticism when we made the GF just praise for Kev and the amazing work he did to take us from the spoon to a GF. We miss the eight and its pile on time. Pretty fucking fair weather in my opinion and if the shoe fucking fits, wear it.
You don't have to like it, but i stand by it.
There is dozens of posts blowing smoke up Kevs ass when we were winning, and a bad season riddled with injury the same people few calling for his head.
THE VERY DEFINITION OF FAIR WAETHER.

 

[Nashy]

Criticise all you want, I didn't hear any of this criticism when we made the GF just praise for Kev and the amazing work he did to take us from the spoon to a GF. We miss the eight and its pile on time. Pretty fucking fair weather in my opinion and if the shoe fucking fits, wear it.
You don't have to like it, but i stand by it.
There is dozens of posts blowing smoke up Kevs ass when we were winning, and a bad season riddled with injury the same people few calling for his head.
THE VERY DEFINITION OF FAIR WAETHER.

@Harry Sack / @Kimlo can back me. I've never rated the spud. The best respect he got from me, was I started calling him his real name when we made the final. He's been Keb or Kebin since. He's a dud.

There was a point where I didn't want to sack him purely because we shouldn't deal with that Sydney team shit. There's no replacement, so hopefully he proves me wrong next year. He won't though.

A fair weather fan would be like someone switching teams when we are losing, or stopping the support of their club when they're losing. That hasn't been the case. The reason people are bagging him, is because he's not helping the club they love.

No one is a bad fan for being critical of the team when they deserve it, because they care about the team. That sort of rubbish take on being a fan will get you plenty of reactions on Facebook, but on here, people with brains know that criticism isn't the same as turning your back on the team.

And even if being critical of the team does make me a bad fan. It doesn't make Kevin Walters a good coach.

Dud.

 

[Wolfie]

Yea man, injuries play no part at all /eyeroll.
Take any team in the comp and remove their spine through injury and they will falter, but nope lnjuries are a cop-out.

Injuries play a part on results because if you lose a few quality players it's harder to win games. I'm not sure the injuries can be used as an excuse though for the manner in which we lose games and capitulate.

 

[Wolfie]

Why did we have the structure last year but not this year? That is what I want to know. I'm happy to give Kev one more shot at it but if 12 weeks into next season we have not shown marked improvement, I'm open to bringing someone else in, just want to make sure it is the right person.

I don't think we had it last year tbf, but our high risk play worked for us. When it doesn't work that's the issue.

 

[Big Del]

I’ve been working with a few coaches this year and have had some really in depth conversations about the roles certain Broncos play. When I have the time (I actually have plenty of it at the moment), I’ll try break it down. Will be interesting to see where BHQ stands on a few things and what roles they’ll want players to have

Like Jordan Riki`s role is to run down field to where a kick is gonna land . But don`t even think about contesting for the ball ? Why ??

Billy Walters running from blindly dummy half with no awareness of where his supports are ? Why ?

Or his team mates that see 1 or no marker but don`t react and follow Billy ? Why ?

 

[BroncosFever]

Did we have structure last year? I know we were better defensively, but even in attack it was simply solo brilliance that got most of our points. Reynolds was there more often giving us some structure, but everything else just seemed to fall into place by fluke

Probably because every team in the NRL practices to defend block plays, something structually has to go wrong from the defensive team for a block play to result in a try. For us, Walsh is the point of difference, he can beat a defender and then attract another, that's what creates the space, you need something like that. It's not a fluke, you don't make a grand final by chance.

 

[Big Del]

something structually has to go wrong from the defensive team for a block play to result in a try.

Oh really ?
I thought all it took was run an angle at Ezra / Piakura / Mozer ?

 

[thenry]

Oh really ?
I thought all it took was run an angle at Ezra / Piakura / Mozer ?

Exactly. Talk about structural deficiencies!

All teams had to do this year was run a half-assed block play on us and it was a dead set training run.

The amount of opposition wingers who scored untouched was an indictment on our defensive structures.

 

[Big Del]

Exactly. Talk about structural deficiencies!

All teams had to do this year was run a half-assed block play on us and it was a dead set training run.

The amount of opposition wingers who scored untouched was an indictment on our defensive structures.

Big difference between this year and last .
The amount of errors the Broncos were able to force on other teams .

Last year the opposition would build pressure , then it would be relieved . A knock on , a forward pass , or passes over the sidelines .
This year those pressures were able to be sustained and the Broncos couldn`t turn it around .
The amount of times last year the opposition looked set to score then shot themselves in the foot was unprecedented .
This year for whatever reasons that pressure was not put on the oppositions .

 

[Big Del]

Exactly. Talk about structural deficiencies!

All teams had to do this year was run a half-assed block play on us and it was a dead set training run.

The amount of opposition wingers who scored untouched was an indictment on our defensive structures.

The corridors around Piakura / Ezra were exploited .
Neither is very good if the angles change or they have to decide which player to take . Some times they would take no one ...

 

[Big Del]

I'm okay to give Kev one more run at it, but a hell of a lot needs to change. 90% of the squad needs a rocket and Kev has the responsibility to deliver it.

Maybe he could get Maximus Crowe to give them the Luke Keary therapy ?
Worked on Keary ,he won a cpl of premierships after Rusty`s spray . LOL .