Coach Whisperer DENIES being part of the Brisbane Broncos doomed NRL season: ‘If I was working with Kevin, the Broncos would be in the top 2’
- Broncos were trounced by the Dolphins on Saturday
- It is almost certain that they will not play the NRL finals in 2024
- The famous Coach Whisperer has washed his hands of any involvement
A prominent mentor, dubbed the ‘Coach Whisperer’ and who has guided some of Australia’s biggest sporting brands to fame, has washed his hands of the Brisbane Broncos and denies any involvement in their 2024 failure.
Bradley Stubbs has worked with top coaches across several football teams including Sydney Roosters coach Kevin Walters, Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson, NSW mentor Michael Maguire, Socceroos boss Graham Arnold and Richmond’s three-time championship winning coach Damien Hardwick.
He advised Walters when he coached Queensland in the 2019 State of Origin arena, where the underdogs were known for their optimistic ‘expect to win’ mentality.
The Maroons failed to live up to their confidence with action and eventually lost the series 2-1 to New South Wales.
Yet those lessons appear to have stuck with Broncos coach Kevin Walters, who assured reporters during the week there was no doubt they would beat the Dolphins and make the NRL finals.
“There is no question of ‘if,’” he said.
Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters is under fire after his club was crushed by The Dolphins, all but ending their hopes of making the 2024 finals
Walters famously worked with Stubbs during the 2019 State of Origin series, but the Coach Whisperer has denied any involvement in the Broncos’ 2024 season
This led to reports that the Coach Whisperer was back in Kevvie’s ear and the 2019 advice was being reapplied.
But Stubbs has distanced himself from the Broncos on social media, saying if he had worked with Walters, there would have been results.
“A media report suggested I was working with Kevin Walters. This is not true,” Stubbs posted with the hashtag #IWinGrandFinals.
“If I were working with Kevin, the Broncos would be in the top 2 of the rankings!”
“But I wish my buddy Kevin all the best for the rest of the year.”
The Broncos will almost certainly not be in the top eight after suffering a defeat at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night in a game that had their season on the line.
Can the coach explain this?
“No, I can’t. I’ll get to the bottom of it,” Walters said.
But the cracks were visible for all to see when the Broncos coach had a heart-to-heart with a reporter during the post-game press conference.
The Broncos barely fired a shot, while the Dolphins had roughly one foot in the finals
When a journalist asked Walters about the club’s recent heavy losses, including a 41-16 defeat to the Bulldogs in round 21, Walters took a chance.
‘I wouldn’t say that. It wasn’t great [against the Bulldogs] but guess what? You seem to know a lot about everything.
It has [happened more than once] but like I said, it’s not great.’
Things weren’t looking good for the under-fire coach, with several NRL fans taking to social media to say his time was up.
“It seems like Kevy has run out of ideas and lost the player base. And that usually spells the end for a coach,” someone posted.
‘I think you’re a coach with no answers. Same thing week in week out, same effort and results,’ added another with the hashtag #byebye
‘What planet is Kevvie living on? We can still play finals, only bad excuses and criticism of journalists. These are signs of a bad coach. He just doesn’t get it. He is not a FG coach,’ posted another.
The Broncos will now rely on their neighbours, the Gold Coast Titans, to beat Newcastle on Sunday afternoon. Should the Knights win, any mathematical chances of reaching the final will be gone.