Ben Ikin delivers concerning message to Michael Maguire after telling Kevin Walters claim

Former Broncos footy manager Ben Ikin has declared Michael Maguire will need to adapt to the current playing group or risk being pushed out the door, despite the current squad being built in the vision for previous coach Kevin Walters. On the weekend, Ikin watched his former club suffer their sixth defeat in seven matches as Maguire's reign as coach was called into question. Fans took to social media and urged the club to bring back their former player. Ikin was formerly the head of football at the Broncos, but departed in 2023 to become the CEO of Queensland Rugby League. On Tuesday, Darren Lockyer made some telling comments after he was asked about Maguire's future having not guaranteed his job if things continue in the same manner. And on Wednesday, Ikin also raised the alarms having suggested Maguire needs to adapt quicker than he expected. There have been reports of player unrest at the club with talks Maguire's style of coaching is taking its toll on the players. On Tuesday, Kotoni Staggs slapped down these suggestions having defended the coach. But Ikin feels the coach is struggling to implement his style with a squad put together to help former coach Walters' vision. "They look like a group that is not all on the same page at the moment," Ikin said on SEN Radio. "Most people could tell you that Madge's style is probably a lot different from Kevvie's. That current roster and footy program was built in Kevvie's image. So you bring in someone who is a polar opposite in Madge and it's going to take a while to adapt."

Kevin Walters responds amid links to replace Des Hasler as Gold Coast Titans coach in NRL

Kevin Walters insists he wants to coach again in the NRL but has refused to address speculation he's in line to replace Des Hasler at the Titans after describing it as "disrespectful" to the veteran coach. Hasler's job at the Gold Coast is under fire after a poor start to the season that sees the Titans sitting 16th on the ladder after just two wins in eight games. It's now emerged that the under-siege coach has a number of performance-related clauses in his contract that could see the Titans axe Hasler without needing to pay him out, if the veteran mentor cannot turn things around. News Corp reports that Hasler faces the axe if Gold Coast don't make the top-eight and play finals footy this season. The Daily Telegraph's Michael Carayannis says the clauses also state that if Gold Coast are mathematically out of finals contention later in the season, then the Titans can decide to part ways with the veteran coach then and there. “He originally signed a three-year deal but there’s clauses in his deal and one of those is a top-eight clause,” Carayannis said. “That is if they don’t make the top eight this year, the Titans are under no obligation to keep him at the club next yet. There’s another element to it and that’s if when they are mathematically no chance of playing finals footy, they can split immediately." With 14 wins generally accepted as the number necessary to play finals footy in most years, it means Hasler's Titans would have to win 12 of their remaining 14 games this season for his job to be safe. The Titans have been hurt by a number of injuries to key players already this season, with Kiwi Test fullback Keano Kini the biggest blow after being ruled out for the season. Former rep forward David Fifita has also experienced complications from pre-season ankle surgery that's set to keep him sidelined for an extended period. The underwhelming form of the rampaging back-rower has been a major issue for Hasler in 2025 and so too has the defence of the Titans, whose 250 points conceded is the second-worst behind only the bottom-placed Eels.

Reece Walsh decision backfires on Kevin Walters as Broncos' finals hopes go up in flames

Kevin Walters' decision to rest Reece Walsh and his State of Origin players in Round 17 against the Warriors has officially come back to haunt the Broncos coach. Brisbane saw their NRL finals hopes go up in flames on Saturday night in a 40-16 loss to the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium. After the Dragons suffered a shock loss to Parramatta on Saturday afternoon, the Broncos had a golden opportunity to jump back into the top-eight with a win over the Dolphins. But they were blown off the park by Wayne Bennett's side, and must now beat the Melbourne Storm in Round 27 to have any chance of making the playoffs. Sitting just two points outside the eight but with little chance of beating the Storm, questions have re-emerged about Walters' decision to rest his Origin players at a pivotal point in the season two months ago. The Broncos travelled to New Zealand to face the Warriors in Round 17, just three days after State of Origin 2 in Melbourne.

Walters explains Sailor snub as rookie No.7 called up

Brisbane coach Kevin Walters has explained his thinking behind the surprise replacement for Adam Reynolds, with Q Cup star Josh Rogers named to wear the No.7 jersey. With Broncos skipper Reynolds sidelined for up to 14 weeks with a torn bicep and alternative half Jock Madden ruled out with a pectoral injury, Walters has backed the rookie to take on the challenge. Rogers' call-up comes at the expense of Broncos five-eighth Tristan Sailor, who was called into the Brisbane line-up to replace an injured Reece Walsh earlier this season. Speaking on 4BC's Wide World of Sports Radio on Tuesday, Walters said the Broncos had a strong pool of options to replace Reynolds, revealing he believes Rogers has "earned his right" to play in the halves. "There were a couple of options for us, with Tristan Sailor as well, but Josh has been playing in the halves and playing the type of football that will be good for us on Friday night against Parramatta," Walters said. "He's been in really good touch for Burleigh in the Queensland Cup and he's earned his right to make his way into the team. "Jock Madden would have been playing, but he is gonna miss another week or two." Rogers made his NRL debut last season during the Broncos' 32-22 loss to the Melbourne Storm. He will join star playmaker Ezra Mam in the halves. "With Ezra, we expect him to step up somewhat with the communication and running of the team - but Josh is doing a great job at Burleigh," said the Brisbane coach.

Broncos' Walters faces one-year deals

Brisbane chairman Karl Morris insists Kevin Walters will be the NRL club's head coach next year but says any future contract extensions will likely be on a one-year basis.The Broncos have conducted an end-of-season review into their year.Morris said Walters, under contract until the end of 2023 after signing a one-year extension in March, was the right man to lead the club forward after taking the side from bottom of the ladder two years ago to ninth this season.Brisbane won 13 games under Walters' stewardship this year, their most since 2018, but lost five of their last six games to slip from fourth to ninth and miss the finals.The Broncos paid a hefty termination settlement to former coach Anthony Seibold when they parted ways in 2020 in the second year of a five-year deal, a scenario the club does not want to revisit.Morris said he was not concerned about any perceptions of instability from not extending Walters' contract beyond next season."The way I view it is that he has a contract until the end of next year and at some stage during the year we will have a conversation with him about going onto a normal employee contract or extending his current contract," Morris told AAP.

Brisbane's season ends in shambles

The Broncos' fall from grace over the past few weeks will go down as one of the big talking points of the 2022 season.Looking certainties to make the finals a fortnight ago, the Broncos have conceded a staggering 113 points against the Storm and then the Eels.Kevin Walters' men missed 52 tackles against Parra - with the Eels cashing in by scoring 53 points.The Broncos may still fall into eighth spot depending on how they go against the Dragons next weekend, but it's hard to see them lasting more than one game in the finals.

Staggs shines for Brisbane

Full marks to Kotoni Staggs for taking the criticism that came his way last week on board and responding in devastating style.Staggs was barely sighted in the big loss to the Cowboys a week ago, making just six runs for 33 metres.But with nearly a dozen players missing against the Dragons yesterday, coach Kevin Walters asked Staggs for a special effort and the powerhouse centre responded.Staggs bagged two fine tries and worried the Dragons' defence every time he had a little room to move.It was a much improved performance by the classy outside back - and shows why the Broncos have such high expectations of him.The double ended a seven match try drought by Staggs and he'll be a vital man in the run in to the finals in coming weeks.

Broncos step up

The Cowboys may be the surprise packet of 2022, but the Broncos aren't far behind.Kevin Walters coached his seventh straight win against another of the season's improvers, the Raiders, on Saturday night.And the Broncos showed plenty of character to come up with their 24-18 win, overcoming injuries to three of their biggest stars.General Adam Reynolds, metre-eater Payne Haas and centre Herbie Farnworth all suffered serious injuries during the game but the Broncos were men on a mission and scored a vital win against a fellow finals contender.

Major Broncos dilemma facing Walters

Kevin Walters' first look at his team in 2022 produced more questions than answers as the Broncos stumbled to a 26-all draw against an impressive Titans outfit.The Titans held the whip hand for much of the game, leading 26-8 after 60 minutes, before a late Broncos rally produced three tries to salvage a draw.But Walters' major dilemma - who to put in the halves alongside marquee signing Adam Reynolds - is no clearer to being resolved.Billy Walters, Albert Kelly and Tyson Gamble all had their chances and did little to push their cause.There were some plusses for the Broncos - Kotoni Staggs was dynamic out wide and Patrick Carrigan looked good in his return from a knee reconstruction.For the Titans, young winger Treymain Spry, who was cut this time last year, was given another chance and made the most of it with a try double.Rugby recruit Sosefo Fifita had the daunting job of marking Staggs but did well and showed some skills of his own.Rookie fullback Jaylan de Groot showed he will push for a top grade spot during the year, scoring a try and creating another.Payne Haas' younger brother Klese made a couple of damaging runs out wide while Tino Fa'asuamaleaui's younger brother Iszac had some good carries.

Walters' brazen dig at Broncos misfortune

Broncos coach Kevin Walters has hit out at critics after claiming the Broncos' start of season woes can't be all his fault considering the current squad is "not my roster". The Brisbane Broncos have struggled at the beginning of the 2021 season after recording just the single victory over the Bulldogs, while suffering two heavy defeats to the Rabbitohs and Storm. Sitting with one win and four losses, the Broncos' run doesn't get any easier as they face the top of the table Panthers on Thursday. Walters, who took over the Broncos from Anthony Seibold, has come under fire after little sign of improvement. “I felt like I have had control since the moment I walked in,” Walters said to the media on Wednesday. “They are a good bunch of guys to work with and we will continue to make them better and improve them in the areas that we need to improve over the season,” Walters said. “We are Round 5 of 25 so we are a quarter of the way. If you look at a cake there is still three quarters of the cake to eat, so that’s what excites me.”

Walters set for 'weird' Bennett NRL battle

Kevin Walters wants to see more resilience from Brisbane when his former mentor and South Sydney boss Wayne Bennett inevitably puts the blowtorch on their fragile defence on Thursday night. NRL rivals picked apart the Broncos' edge and middle defence like never before as they collected the wooden spoon last season and things have hardly improved despite Walters' arrival in 2021. "Players are aware of that and we've spent a good focus of our time on ourselves on what happens when things aren't going so well," Walters said. "We'll be under pressure at various stages, so we'll see the resilience and if there's been any improvement there." Walters said it would be "weird" to coach against Bennett, who coached him and has also coached with him when Walters was a Brisbane assistant. "It's a privilege to be coaching against him at this level; he's well over the 700 mark now in games coached and I'm up to number five," Walters said. "He's a big influence ... we were first introduced to each other when I was 16 turning 17 and he's been involved ever since in some capacity. "I'm sure it'll be a little bit weird I've got to say, but I'm really grateful."

Kevin Walters admits change will 'take some time'

Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters admits "it's going to take some time" for the club to get back to its winning ways following tonight's 28-16 loss to the Gold Coast Titans. Titans recruit David Fifita was at his absolute best tonight as he reminded his former side just how much they're going to miss him, with a starring performance which included two tries. He also finished the match with 136 run metres, 40 of which were post-contact. But the Broncos will no doubt be pointing the finger at themselves after they finished the match with 17 total errors along with a 67 per cent completion rate, which proved costly as they struggled to score points before picking up two late consolation tries. The 0-2 start to the season is a brutal wake-up call for the club who finished last year's wooden-spooners, which was the first time in history the club had steeped so low. A defiant Walters responded and said "improvements from previous years" are noticeable around the club, but admitted there's still a long way to go before significant change starts to take place.