- The Broncos were routed by the Dolphins on Saturday
- They have almost certainly been ruled out of playing in the 2024 NRL finals.
- The famous Whisperer trainer has distanced himself from any involvement.
A prominent mentor dubbed the “coach whisperer” who has led some of Australia’s biggest sporting brands to glory has weighed in on the Brisbane Broncos and denied any involvement in their 2024 failure.
Bradley Stubbs has worked with elite coaches across multiple football codes including Kevin Walters, Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson, NSW mentor Michael Maguire, Socceroos boss Graham Arnold and three-time championship-winning Richmond coach Damien Hardwick.
He advised Walters when he was Queensland coach at the State of Origin stadium in 2019, where the underdogs adopted an optimistic “expect to win” mentality.
The Maroons were unable to back up that confidence with action and eventually lost the series to New South Wales 2-1.
Those lessons appear to have stuck with Broncos coach Kevin Walters, however, who assured reporters during the week there was no doubt they would beat the Dolphins and make it to the NRL finals.
“There is no doubt that we will reach the final,” he said.
Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters is under siege after his club were crushed by the Dolphins and their hopes of a finals appearance in 2024 were all but ended.
Walters worked with Stubbs during the 2019 State of Origin series but the coaching whisperer has denied being involved in the Broncos’ 2024 season.
That led to reports that the coach whisperer was back in Kevvie’s ear and that the 2019 advice was being applied once again.
But Stubbs has taken to social media to distance himself from the Broncos, saying that if he had worked with Walters there would have been results.
“A media report suggested I’m working with Kevin Walters. That’s not true,” Stubbs posted with the hashtag #IWinGrandFinals.
‘If I was working with Kevin, the Broncos would be in the top two in the table!
“But I wish my friend Kevin all the best for the rest of the year.”
The Broncos will almost certainly not be in the top eight after self-destructing at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night in a game where their season was at stake.
Can the coach explain it?
“I can’t, but I will get to the bottom of it,” Walters said.
But the cracks became apparent when the Broncos coach confronted a reporter personally at the postgame news conference.
The Broncos barely fired a shot as the Dolphins cruised to a place in the final.
It was when a reporter asked Walters about the club’s recent heavy defeats, including when the Bulldogs beat them 41-16 in Round 21, that Walters took the initiative.
“I wouldn’t say that. It wasn’t good at all (against the Bulldogs), but what do you think? You seem to know a lot about everything.
“It has happened more than once, but as I said, it’s nothing great.”
It was not a good look for the under-siege coach and a number of NRL fans posted on social media suggesting his time could be up.
“It seems that Kevy has run out of ideas and has lost his group of players. And that usually means the end of a coach,” posted one.
“I think you’re a coach without answers. Same week after week, same effort and results,” added another with the hashtag #byebye
“What planet is Kevvie living on? We can still play finals, nothing but bad excuses and attacking journalists. These are signs of a bad coach. He just doesn’t get it, he’s not a FG coach,” posted another.
The Broncos will now rely on neighbours Gold Coast Titans to beat Newcastle on Sunday afternoon. If the Knights win, any mathematical chances of making the finals will be gone.