NEWS Walters: the art of the deal

The Broncos are showing faith in Kevvie Walters by allowing him to prematurely renegotiate his September 2020 contract, currently worth around $400K. He will immediately switch to a week to week "standard employment contract" based solely on performance, with handsome incentives for on-field success. He will earn major bonuses if he meets Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), such as making the playoffs. The deal includes the go-ahead to shop for fresh talent in his football department. The terms will include a period of notice, thought to be three months.

This means he can now theoretically be sacked before his previous contract would've expired at the end of the 2022 season. But it also means neither party needs to sweat over whether to renew his contract. It's good to go until it isn't.

Donuts and Ikin are also on standard contracts with no fixed terms, and intend to phase out the expensive player options that crushed the club in previous years.

Kevvie says:


“I’m not expecting any favours from anyone here. I have to perform. Every club has to get results and we’re no different. I’ve said for a while I want to be here long term and I intend to do that. But I’m not a fool either. I’m not kidding myself. It’s about getting results and I need to get results to stay in the role which is pretty clear."

“I want to be here for longer. We’ve had some player movement which hasn’t provided stability and what the Broncos need is stability across the playing group and the coaching staff. I never saw myself as a short-term appointment. I want to be here for a while, but to do that everybody at the Broncos has to perform and I’m no different.”

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A firm grip on the Gold

Walters’ agent Chris Orr:


“The Broncos want Kevvie to be their long-term successful coach. The Broncos are looking to throw all their support around Kevvie by increasing resources, whilst taking away any contractual questions by entering an employment agreement. This means Kevvie will be rewarded on results whilst also increasing stability across the club.”

Donuts:

“We’re in discussions with Kevin, so I’d prefer not to comment for now. Look, Kev’s our coach. He’s our guy and he’s determined to succeed. There’s been quite a bit of change here in recent times, but we feel that with a number of things falling into place, the opportunity exists to build on where we currently are."

“We’ve prioritised investment in our football program and supporting our coach, staff and players. The growth I’ve seen in Kev as a coach and in the program led by Ben Ikin has been tremendous. The pre-season starts Monday and we believe the group led by Kev will continue to grow on the gains we saw at the back end of last season. It’s for them to do, but I’ve got the confidence and belief in them that they will. There’s real value in stability and continuity. I’ve been really impressed with Kevvie in the last three to four months. He’s certainly grown.”

Former future of the Broncos Tommy Dearden:

“I had been at the Broncos since I was 13 years old and I took things from a lot of people that helped me on my journey. Kevvie was pretty strict in the pre-season last year about playmakers playing their own game and being their own player on the field. That’s one thing I learnt from ‘Kevvie’: to be my own player out there."

“Your confidence always takes a knock when you lose so many games in a row. You go out and play to win, but I was struggling to get a win for a very long time. It’s been a tough start to my career, but I took some confidence moving to the Cowboys and getting that win against the Dragons. "

"One thing I have taken from Kevvie is having that belief in my game. He wished me all the best when I left. It’s a part of football sometimes that players move clubs and that happened to me. I learnt a fair bit from Kevvie in the short amount of time I was working with him, so I’m grateful for the time I had with him.”


McHunt
 
Donuts:

“For us, we have been having discussions around this open-ended employment contract for quite some time. Kev and I have a good relationship, we go back some time, we are very close and we can have very direct conversations around it. I don’t think Walters’ new contract is for everyone, but Kev knows he has my full backing. Everyone has seen the investment we have made around Kev, the team and the Broncos program.”

“I have seen a real growth in terms of Kevvie’s expertise in the role over the back end of the season and the results flowed from that The conversations around the deal should happen behind closed doors. I understand it is a little different in rugby league terms, but when you are talking about the theory side of it, a performance-based employee contract is not an unusual thing to do in the business world. Having been briefed last week by ‘Kevvie’ on what the pre-season looks like and the planning that has gone into it, I’m really excited to see what this group can do under Kev.”

“It’s exciting, day one of pre-season. No one from the club is shying away from the goal of playing finals footy. You will hear that from everyone, but that’s an outcome. Our football program has a bit of stability and continuity. Everyone is looking for that opportunity and to take advantage of what is in front of us which is to keep progressing and capitalising on the gains we made at the back end of last season.”

McHunt
 
Season 22 goals :

Beat the Dragons [x]
Beat the Eels [x]
Make the 8 [x]

Season 23 goals:
Beat the Storm [x]
Make top 4 [x]
 
Kevin Walters

“I’m not worried about my contract. That’s in my manager’s hands, I’m really focusing on what is happening out here on the grass. I am confident I will be here long term at the Broncos. I feel I’m the best person for the job here given what’s happened when I walked in."

“If you look at what happened 12 months ago, we were last on the ladder and over the salary cap, so a lot of things have been fixed in a short period. This club is about consistency and delivering each week and it’s my job to ensure that happens. If that doesn’t happen, I’ll be the first one to put my hand up, but I’m very confident about where we are going and the direction we are taking, particularly with how we finished off last year. There’s still more to do, but I’m extremely confident that I’m the right person to take this club forward.

“I’m not bothered by my contract. It takes as long as it takes to sort out. I know the job here at the Broncos is about getting consistent football amongst us.”

“I understand the culture of the Broncos. What happened 20 or 30 years ago is probably irrelevant to the current guys, but I feel I’m the best person to get the best out of this group. I want to do some great things with them. We have some young talent coming through, they have played 30 or 40 or 50 games and I know I can help them become the players that they need to become for us to be successful again."

“There have been some changes made and this is a big season for all of us, coaching staff, the players and the administration staff so we can march forward and be that club that we all need to be. Pre-season is always a good time for the players. We have another 10 or 12 players coming back next Thursday which will give us good numbers to work on some team stuff."

“I’m pleased with the first week we have had.”


McHunt

 
Kevin Walters

“I’m not worried about my contract. That’s in my manager’s hands, I’m really focusing on what is happening out here on the grass. I am confident I will be here long term at the Broncos. I feel I’m the best person for the job here given what’s happened when I walked in."

“If you look at what happened 12 months ago, we were last on the ladder and over the salary cap, so a lot of things have been fixed in a short period. This club is about consistency and delivering each week and it’s my job to ensure that happens. If that doesn’t happen, I’ll be the first one to put my hand up, but I’m very confident about where we are going and the direction we are taking, particularly with how we finished off last year. There’s still more to do, but I’m extremely confident that I’m the right person to take this club forward.

“I’m not bothered by my contract. It takes as long as it takes to sort out. I know the job here at the Broncos is about getting consistent football amongst us.”

“I understand the culture of the Broncos. What happened 20 or 30 years ago is probably irrelevant to the current guys, but I feel I’m the best person to get the best out of this group. I want to do some great things with them. We have some young talent coming through, they have played 30 or 40 or 50 games and I know I can help them become the players that they need to become for us to be successful again."

“There have been some changes made and this is a big season for all of us, coaching staff, the players and the administration staff so we can march forward and be that club that we all need to be. Pre-season is always a good time for the players. We have another 10 or 12 players coming back next Thursday which will give us good numbers to work on some team stuff."

“I’m pleased with the first week we have had.”


McHunt

Has Kevvie put the 'Kevvie curse' on himself 🤔🤔🤔
 
“What happened 20 years ago is irrelevant to these guys”

It should be relevant. An entire city is screaming for the success we used to have and we are sad and depressed until it happens again.

Do it for our mental health, Broncos!
 
“If you look at what happened 12 months ago, we were last on the ladder and over the salary cap”

He probably shouldn’t be saying that publicly.

“I’m not bothered by my contract. It takes as long as it takes to sort out.”

What does this mean? I thought Dave already said the contract had been sorted?
 
“If you look at what happened 12 months ago, we were last on the ladder and over the salary cap”

He probably shouldn’t be saying that publicly.

“I’m not bothered by my contract. It takes as long as it takes to sort out.”

What does this mean? I thought Dave already said the contract had been sorted?
I think the cap reference was cost to retain all players. Ie they would have had to let some walk. Does explain the deals that were cut to get players off books quicker. Otherwise would have been a 2-3 year process to restructure roster.

Kev comment RE contract is just run of the mill PR. IE everyone has agreed and cool with it and just doesn't want to discuss with media.
 
I have been very critical of Kev as coach.
However, this could make him; or break him, but it's on him.
Enough of the rubbish. Brother sitting next to you, son on the roster, assistants that aren't up to scratch.
But theshed is right; why not get the absolute best assistants (quickly) ? If Kev doesn't get his staff at the highest quality, he may feel more secure but it's false security if the rest of the organisation is operating at a higher level. Kev will be held to account for another season of unacceptable results, and it will be ugly.
It may even be too late but Kev will make or break his own future by the quality of the staff he puts around him. For goodness sake Kev, give yourself (and the team) a fighting chance.
 
Cameron Smith:
“I think ‘Kevvie’ has been backed thus far by everyone in the front office of the Broncos. Kevin Walters has a 29 per cent success rate as Broncos coach. But the reality for Kevvie is that in elite sports, you need results. It’s the black-and-white way of explaining it. Your team needs to be winning to prolong your position as head coach. I was lucky at the Melbourne Storm that we won games for a long time and we were able to keep Craig Bellamy there. But I was impressed with the way the Broncos finished the season last year in the final four to six weeks. They played some great footy, they just need to harness that this season for 80 minutes from round one and I think they will be OK.”​

Darren Lockyer:
“I don’t want to comment on Kevvie’s future too much because I’m on the board. But I would have to agree that there is a lot more positive energy at the club. There seems to be some calm and stability and Kevvie has played a big role in that. You definitely don’t want to be going through so much turbulence year after year. It’s been a rough ride for the last few years but I feel like things are stabilising and there’s a lot more positive vibes in the club. The players are happier in the environment they’re in and Kevvie can take credit for the atmosphere at training.”​

Adam Reynolds:

“The relationship I have with Kevvie is pretty strong already. He is passionate about his footy, he loves the Broncos, he wants to see them back at the top and we’re on the same page to try and achieve that.”​

McHunt
 

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