Coates to leave Broncos, join Storm on two-year deal
BRONCOS coach Kevin Walters says the departure of star winger Xavier Coates to Melbourne next year will not derail his plans to rebuild the struggling Brisbane club.
The Coates signing saga was finally confirmed on Sunday, with Melbourne announcing the 20-year-old to a two-year deal from the 2022 season in a huge coup for the club.
The Maroons winger told his Brisbane teammates in the aftermath of Saturday’s 19-18 loss to the Cowboys that he will link with the Storm next year, despite attempts to urge him to remain at Red Hill.
“The Broncos are a great club and they have played a huge role in helping me get to where I am today,” Coates said.
“This was a really hard decision to make but I promise that I will give my best for the Broncos, my teammates and our fans every moment for the rest of the year.”
Coates is the latest young Brisbane star to defect from the club in the past 18 months – joining the likes of Tom Dearden (Cowboys), Reece Walsh (Warriors), David Fifita (Titans) and Sam Walker (Roosters).
Walters admitted the loss of Coates was “not great for the Broncos” but declared the club would move on.
“It is disappointing for sure because we like to keep our kids who have been in our system for several years,” he said.
“How big a loss is it? Well, I don’t really know.
“We lost an Immortal in Wally Lewis back in 1991 to a rival club and we seemed to have survived from that so I think we’ll survive from this one.
“One player doesn’t make a team. We’ve got a couple of good young kids coming through, which we are keen to develop, but we’ll look at that over the next week to see where we’re at.”
Walters was adamant the loss of Coates would not throw a spanner in the works for his own plans to rebuild the Brisbane club.
Melbourne’s football boss Frank Ponissi said Coates had been on Melbourne’s radar for several years and he was excited to have finally nabbed the Queensland Origin winger.