Kevin Walters has urged Broncos powerbrokers to grant him a contract extension while admitting he lost his personality at times ahead of Sunday’s clash with the Warriors.
The Broncos currently sit second-last on the ladder and showed little improvement earlier in the season but appear to have turned a corner in the past month.
The challenge for Walters though will be to now maintain those results on a more consistent basis, with reports Broncos bosses will make a call on his future next year in April.
Walters though is entirely committed to the task and urging the Broncos to give him long-term security to work with the reshaped roster he has started to put together.
“There are no easy yards in the NRL,” Walters told the Courier Mail.
“But I feel we did some hard yards earlier in the year ... and they are starting to pay dividends.
“I can and plan to be here beyond next year, 100 per cent.
“To be honest, I want them to cart me out of here.
“I do want to be here long-term. I didn’t accept this job to be here two or three years and get moved on.
“I know it’s up to me to prove I can get the job done, but I believe we are starting to the club around and moving towards where the Broncos should be.”
Walters has made it clear what that future will look like by making big moves on the player market, securing the signatures of Adam Reynolds and Kurt Capewell among others.
Meanwhile, Brisbane has also worked to extend existing talent with 13 players including Kotoni Staggs and Tesi Niu re-signing in the recent month.
“Kevvie walked into a club, and we only spoke about it through the night, just how bad 2020 was for the Broncos,” Greg Alexander told Fox League on Saturday night.
“It was every Friday night. There were plenty of remarks made about players there and their lack of effort. Kevvie has tried to move some of them on and Ben Ikin has been very good.
“He’s [Walters] got an ally there in Ben Ikin. Their form over the last five to six weeks has been good but it needs to continue to be good.”
Michael Ennis added that the inclusion of Reynolds in particular will put the club right in the frame for a top-eight spot.
“He’ll change so much,” he told Fox League.
“If they can get Kotoni Staggs on the field, he’s a weapon. Get Reynolds into the side and some of the young kids are really starting to come along.”
Not everything went to plan for the Broncos this year though, with reports of player unrest and drama in the front office.
Walters himself told reporters on Saturday that heavy defeats took their toll on him.
“Through that couple of games there where we sort of weren’t performing at a level where I believe we should’ve, I just sort of lost my personality a bit which I feel is important regardless of the situation that you maintain who you are and what you believe in,” he said.
“I feel I’ve got a really strong personality amongst the playing group and a really positive personality as well so I need to maintain those standards.
“Whenever we come across and there will be some more rocky times ahead for sure, and through those periods I need to maintain my personality to keep the club heading in the right direction.”
Story first published on Fox Sports