BRISBANE SHOW FAITH IN KEVVIE WITH NEW DEAL TO END OF 2023

BRISBANE coach Kevin Walters has outlined his burning ambition to deliver the club’s seventh premiership after clinching a contract extension to remain at the Broncos until the end of 2023.

The Broncos and Walters agreed to terms on a 12-month extension last night in a major show of faith for the club legend ahead of Brisbane’s critical 2022 campaign.

Walters was off-contract at season’s end and the two parties had been locked in delicate negotiations for the past three months without reaching a definitive outcome, fuelling a view Broncos powerbrokers were buying time to assess his performance this season. But in the lead-up to Brisbane’s season opener against Souths next Friday night, Broncos bosses have shown their hand by backing Walters.

Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy said the one-year extension would provide continuity to the football program following an improved performance in the back half of last season as Walters helped the glamour club offload the wooden spoon.

“Extending

Kevin out to the end of 2023 now provides the stability we need to continue the improvement shown in the back half of the 2021 season,” Donaghy said.

“It’s been well documented that we initiated a reset during last season and made a range of changes which resulted in better performances. As head coach, Kevin has played a key role in that change process. We have added some experienced players to our roster who will play an important role alongside our emerging talent as we aim to move into a growth phase. Providing continuity over the coming two seasons by extending Kevin to the end of 2023 will give our entire football program the stability they need to keep improving and growing as a team and as a club.”

As first revealed by The CourierMail, Brisbane hierarchy had tabled the most radical coaching contract in their history last November.

They wanted Walters’ current deal to be shifted to a standard employment contract that could see him terminated at short notice without the type of hefty $1.5 million payout given to his predecessor Anthony Seibold.

But Walters (inset) was seeking more certainty.

He asked Broncos officialdom to provide an extension for the 2023 season, at which time the 54-yearold would then agree to be placed on a perform-or-perish employment contract for 2024.

The Broncos board have been told Walters should not be specifically appraised on Brisbane’s thirdlast finish in 2021 given the mess he inherited from the wooden-spoon debacle the previous year.

The Dragons recently took the step of extending former Broncos coach Anthony Griffin until the end of 2023 to provide stability and there is a sentiment Brisbane chiefs should show similar faith in Walters.

The Broncos have agreed to that request from the Walters camp, giving the coach their backing.