Walters wary of ‘vicious’ NRL coaching cycle

LEADING contender to coach the Titans, Kevin Walters, said he was wary of stepping into “the big bad world of NRL coaching”.

The Queensland coach leads the list of potential replacements for the axed Neil Henry.

Despite Walters being contracted as Maroons mentor for 2018 and in negotiations around a two-year extension himself, QRL boss Bruce Hatcher has told The Courier Mail his board would consider letting Walters walk “if he came along and said it was the opportunity of a lifetime”.

“I haven’t had any conversations with the Titans at all about the position,” Walters told Sky Sports’ Big Sports Breakfast hours before Henry’s sacking.

“I do want to be (an NRL) coach. I’m just not sure if the timing is quite right for me to step into the big bad world of NRL coaching. It’s a pretty vicious old world there if you don’t get it right.

“As we’ve seen this year with a lot of the coaches, they just get attacked weekly if they don’t win. I think there’s too much emphasis placed at times on what the coach is actually doing and I think more should be said about how our players are handling different situations.”

The 49-year-old has served apprenticeships as impressive as they come in rugby league, working as assistant to Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bennett over multiple stints.

The Queensland rebuilding role, he feels, is by no means complete, having debuted eight Origin rookies in 2017.

“I’m still contracted to the QRL,” Walters said.

“I hope to keep going for another few years to work through that transition period with our players so we’ll see what happens.

“I think it is important if you are going to put your big toe into the water and have a bit of a crack at it, you’ve got to get the right club.”