‘That is ridiculous’: Kevin Walters fires up over questions about his future, insists Adam Reynolds will remain Broncos captain

Broncos coach Kevin Walters has hit back at suggestions he’s under pressure to keep his job as last year’s grand finalists face an almighty challenge to fight their way back into the top eight after slipping to 13th on the back of a horror losing streak over the Origin period.

Brisbane was minutes away from winning the premiership last season, but they look set to miss the finals for the third time in four seasons under Walters.

Walters was asked about the scrutiny he would face if his side couldn’t beat the Titans on Saturday with everything to play for.

“I am not even going to answer that. That is ridiculous,” Walters said.

“Who has been critical? They haven’t been in here and looked at what we are doing. That is a silly question.

“Unless you’re actually working in here and you get to see what’s happening daily, you really don’t know.

“We are the Broncos, we’re a big club and we expect to be put under the microscope.

“There’s no problems from my end there.”

A shock loss to the Titans back in May sparked a six-game winless streak that sent the Broncos tumbling out of the top eight, and although they steadied the ship with a big win in Newcastle, all of that was forgotten when they were thrashed at home by the Bulldogs.

Skipper Adam Reynolds returned from injury in the Knights game but had his leadership credentials questioned by Broncos legend Gorden Tallis, who suggested Pat Carrigan should take over.

But Walters shot down any thought about a leadership change, declaring Reynolds will be captain while he’s at the club.

“I mentioned to him through the week that when Dave Donaghy (Broncos chief executive) and I went down to sign him in Sydney that he was our captain. As long as he is still playing, he will be our captain,” he said.

“(The criticism) was a tough thing for him to read but he is a tough fella and he has been around the game long enough to understand how important his captaincy is to our club.

“When he is playing well and gets his own game moving well, he has a huge influence over our team. We saw that against Newcastle and we will see that again tomorrow against the Titans.”

The Broncos are four points outside the top eight and face a tough finish to the regular season, but their always positive coach is confident his side can still play finals footy.

“There are a lot of clubs in our position. We are not the only ones in the rugby league world. We’ve got to fight this weekend and play well,” he said.

“We’ve got everything to play for. We had everything to play for last week. We’ve had a good preparation and there is energy amongst the group.

“I’m very confident in our players and the group we’ve got here for a good response from last week.”