Push to bring Kearney back into Broncos fold
THE Broncos have given highlevel backing for coach Kevin Walters to target former Brisbane assistant Steve Kearney in the wake of his decision to quit the Melbourne Storm.
Brisbane officialdom is keen for Kearney to return to Red Hill to support Walters, who is under mounting pressure to break a Broncos premiership drought that extends to 17 years next season.
Kearney, who steered New Zealand to two major trophies, including the 2008 World Cup, will stand down as Craig Bellamy’s assistant at Melbourne at the end of November and return to his family in Brisbane.
That opens the door for the Broncos, whose bosses have vowed to give Walters every possible resource to reignite Brisbane as a finals force and deliver their first premiership since 2006. Walters completed a three-day ‘Broncos Summit’ on Friday where the coach and his staff conducted a forensic analysis of Brisbane’s late-season collapse this year and how they hit back to play finals in 2023.
Walters recently promoted former Queensland Origin hooker Matt Ballin following the termination of assistant Terry Matterson and it is understood he has one spot available on his coaching staff.
There is a push for Kearney to be the final piece in Brisbane’s coaching premiership puzzle. The Kiwi Test great is highly regarded in the corridors of power at the Broncos. He had a four-season stint at the Broncos between 2013-16, first hired as an assistant by Anthony Griffin and later retained by Wayne Bennett before Kearney left Brisbane to take up a head coaching role at the Warriors in 2017.
Kearney has a close relationship with Walters, with the duo joining forces as Bennett’s assistants in Brisbane’s charge to the 2015 grand final, which they lost to the Cowboys.