Kurt‘s Cowboy offer
BUT KEV WON BATTLE
HE WON a premiership at Penrith. Now Kurt Capewell believes Brisbane has the artillery to win this year’s title and has revealed how he knocked back interest from the Cowboys in his quest to make the Broncos great again.
Capewell will be a key figure for the Broncos when the vice-captain marks up against Cowboys back-row sensation Jeremiah Nanai in Friday’s Queensland derby blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium.
If the Cowboys had their way, Capewell and Nanai would be teammates as the master and apprentice of North Queensland’s back row.
When Capewell was offcontract at two-time premier Penrith in 2021, North Queensland went hard for his signature, to the point where Cowboys coach Todd Payten flew south for a meeting with the Maroons utility.
Payten liked Capewell’s work ethic and no-nonsense style and believed his premiership-winning professionalism made him a perfect role model for the Cowboys’ emerging stars such as Nanai.
But Capewell has opened up about his decision to choose the Broncos over the Cowboys, saying the influence of Brisbane coach Kevin Walters was decisive.
“To be honest, I did have a meeting with the Cowboys,” Capewell said on the eve of the XXXX derby. “They wanted me to go up there for a look around and it was definitely a consideration, but once I got the call from the Broncos and I sat down and spoke with ‘Kevvie’ (Walters), I was straight on the phone to the Cowboys.
“I didn’t want to stuff them around … A huge factor was what the Broncos meant to me.
“It’s where I first started in the under-20s and they are a club I’ve grown up admiring. They just suited me to the ground and after one meeting with Kevvie, I could feel his passion for the joint … I was sold then.
“I also spoke to ‘Alfie’ Langer (Broncos halfback legend) in Origin camp and knowing how much he and Kevvie love the club, I could really relate to that and I want to bring the club back to its former glory.”
Capewell is regarded as the Minister for Defence at Red Hill. He is also the gatekeeper of standards. Broncos insiders say if a teammate cuts a corner at training, one steely-eyed glare from Capewell is enough to convince them to finish the drill properly.
It’s an attitude Capewell derived from his two-season stint at Penrith, where he played in the 2020 grand final loss before clinching a premiership ring the following season.
Capewell was tireless in Brisbane’s 13-12 boilover of the champions in the season opener last week and it was a performance that convinced the 29-year-old the Broncos’ class of 2023 can snap the club’s 17year premiership drought.
“We are capable of it (winning the premiership), 100 per cent,” he said.