The Complete Hypocrisy of Supporting Kevin Walters: There seems to be very little dispute that Kevin Walters is a great guy, which is a totally irrelevant point but one that seems central to the support (or at least a lack of criticism) he gets from the Broncos Old Boys and his friends in the media. Walters’ ability to win the comms battle seems to be keeping him in a job he is just not cut out for.
Walters was downright embarrassing in his press conference after getting decimated against their crosstown rivals – a team he petulantly calls Redcliffe – when he answered some very simple questions with smarmy responses. He denied the club had some pretty bad losses over the past three months. He responded to one question by saying “what do you think? You seem to know a lot about everything”. He doesn’t think the roster is a problem yet the subtext was that the players did not understand the gravity of their roles.
This a week after declaring that the Broncos would play finals football as he delusionally declared that the season was not over yet.
The Queensland media rightly have turned on Walters, understanding that he is not the man for the job. It is a different position taken by the national media. Fox Sports are great defenders of him. Pals like Gorden Tallis have been quiet after Saturday’s humiliation whereas when Anthony Seibold was losing he led a rabid pack of hyenas, a ripping and a tearing at every opportunity. Buzz wrote over the weekend that he deserves 12 more months.
Nobody deserves anything in Rugby League. Decorated international prop Aaron Woods finished his career in reserve grade. Future Immortal Darren Lockyer ended his career injured. Steve Price missed a Grand Final victory in his last match with Canterbury. It has nothing to do with what Walters deserves. It has to do with what will best help deliver the Broncos their next title. Walters is clearly not the answer.
While he has spent much of the back half of the season saying this is “not who we are”, it is exactly who they are. Brisbane are a flighty team with no depth who typically seem underprepared. They have some of the game’s best players – Walsh, Haas, Carrigan – and some genuine talent – Mam, Cobbo, Staggs – but have filled out their roster poorly and to make matters worse, Walters has not developed any talent.
Since Round 12, Brisbane are 3-9. Two of their three wins have come against teams outside the Top 8. They have conceded 40 or more in three of their last five and have conceded 28.25ppg since Round 12. They were kept to 16 or fewer in half of those games.
This is who the Broncos are. And Kevin Walters’ solution is to bring in Trent Barrett (14-56 in his last four seasons, 36-83 over his career), a coach so bereft of ideas and so averse to winning it is stunning he could get an interview with a club let alone a job.
It is time for Dave Donaghy to blow it up now. He can wait but he is only pushing back the inevitable six months to a year. Walters has to go. He has to assert his power. And the Broncos need to find a coach who can return them to the promised land.
Flanno Goes Beserk: Say what you will about Shane Flanagan’s “colourful” history in the game – he is not backwards in coming forwards about changing the culture of a joint. He skewered his players, throwing each and every one of them under the bus. His bake of Ben Hunt was all-time. We need to see a lot more of coaches holding his players accountable.
Robbo Not So Forgiving Of Others: There should be no issue with a coach going after another player, particularly when said player has ended the season of a player from the coach’s team. Trent Robinson was having none of Elliott Whitehead’s apology, believing he is a grub at heart with a heinous record. Which is fine – but that attitude should carry across to his own players and in particular career recidivist Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
When A Hero Comes Along: Ativalu Lisati is not a name well known to most Rugby League fans – and he only just joined the Storm from the Panthers – but he etched himself into gambling folklore with an incredible try in the final minutes to give the Storm a backdoor cover for the ages.
2024 Field Goal Update – 26: Another weekend sans field goals, taking the average down to one per week.
- Fun Fact #1: Canterbury have made the Grand Final in every ‘4’ year starting in 1974.
- Fun Fact #2: The top two defensive teams in a season have filled 10 of the last 12 Grand Final spots.
- Fun Fact #3: The last team to win a premiership from outside the Top 4 was Canterbury in 1995.
Willie M Team of the Week: This week’s team of nongs, nincompoops and no-shows:
1.Tristan Sailor (Bri)
2.Dean Ieremia (Mel)
3.Michael Jennings (Roo)
4.Max Feagai (Dra)
5.Mikaele Ravalawa (Dra)
6.Jayden Campbell (GC)
7.Ben Hunt (Dra)
8.Oregon Kaufusi (Cro)
9.Brandon Smith (Roo)
10.Sean Keppie (Sou)
11.Jordan Riki (Bri)
12.Jeremiah Nanai (NQ)
13.Jaeman Salmon (Bul)
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14.Blake Mozer (Bri)
15.Tom Buregess (Sou)
16.Lykhan King-Togia (Dra)
17.Keenan Palasia (GC)
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Coach: Kevin Walters (Bri)
Betting Market of the Week: If Adam Reynolds and Felise Kaufusi were to come to blows after Reynolds mouthed off at Kaufusi when he was being sent to the sin bin, who would win:
- $5001: Adam Reynolds
- $1.00: Felise Kaufusi
Rumour Mill: Joey Manu is expected to shift to five-eighth this week to cover for Sam Walker. Jordan Rapana is expected to announce a move to the Super League. Josh Schuster is expected to play as an impact player off the bench under Wayne Bennett next year. Matt Lodge has been linked with a move to Newcastle – his sixth club.
The Coaching Crosshairs: PNG star Justin Olam was scathing of the appointment of Jason Demetriou as the country’s national coach – and he was right in his criticism. Olam is fed up with the PNG national job being used as a vehicle to get other jobs. Since 2007, PNG have had six different coaches across nine different spells. Demetriou will be the seventh. Only Adrian Lam and Michael Marum have coached the Kumuls for 10 or more games. PNG do not need to hire a local but they do need to find someone committed to the cause, not a transient coach looking for their next full-time gig.
Moronic Coaching Decision of the Week: Shane Flanagan deserves plenty of credit for eviscerating his players including skipper Ben Hunt after the shameful loss on Saturday but he did bring part of it on himself by selecting Mikaele Ravalawa on the wing. Ravalawa is one of the biggest liabilities and the fact he has not learnt basic defensive principles yet should ensure he is done in first grade. Sometimes tinkering works. This time it cost the Dragons a finals berth.
Watch It: This week we go back two years to one of the great all-time press conferences when Ricky Stuart unleashed on Jaeman Salmon, one of the most memorable attacks on a player from a coach in the history of the game. Never forget weak-gutted dog person. Watch it here.