King Wally's blunt reality check for Broncos

There are signs of life at the Broncos – but it's still humiliating for the once-mighty club to be just above last place.

That's the blunt call of inaugural Brisbane captain Wally Lewis, who reflected on coach Kevin Walters, new football boss Ben Ikin, plus the curious fact that the Broncos' best two players currently are from NSW. He also flagged the possibility of Walters picking the brain of iconic Broncos coach Wayne Bennett ahead of next season.

Brisbane upset Cronulla last weekend to rise to 15th on the ladder and will bank two more points this weekend with a bye. Things are looking up in their bid to avoid a second consecutive wooden spoon and the pressure has marginally eased on Walters, who has already delivered more wins than the Broncos had all of last season.

"I think he's going to be relieved as much as anything," Lewis said on Wide World of Sports' QLDER, speaking with Adam Jackson.

"Certainly he's been under enormous pressure, particularly when you're in a one-team town. All the pressure is on that team, that club, if they don't perform to the best of their abilities and I'm sure that Kevvy has felt plenty of pressure.

"Here in the media, we want to know why the Broncos aren't winning week-in, week-out. But when we have a look at the team on paper, we've got to be honest and say there is not a lot of experience in there, so Kevvy is certainly going to be judged by the Broncos performance but I think there will be some responsibility at the club to understand that he's just in a position now with plenty of inexperienced players.

"He will get over that and I think that he'll probably even call on Wayne Bennett in the off-season for a little bit of conversation. They are as close as any player [and] former coach that I've ever seen in my time in rugby league. They respect each other's opinion and ability enormously.

"There will be some judgment made [about] Kevvy but I think he will pull out and old Bennett play and simply sweep it under the carpet and be judged by the way that he finishes. If he gets to be able to improve on his performances, then he's going to be happy at the end of it.

"I'm pretty sure that they will avoid the wooden spoon. We've also got to remember that the Bulldogs, another once-great club … are struggling, they're doing it enormously tough.

"From a former Broncos player, I'm kind of glad to see the pressure taken off the players a little bit but if they are just playing not to finish last on the ladder, I think they've got to realign the goals of rugby league."

Brisbane's two best players as they beat the Sharks were Payne Haas and Kotoni Staggs. For so long a virtual Queensland Origin team, the Broncos are now in the unfamiliar position of their side being headlined by NSW players; Haas a Blues regular, Staggs a highly-touted prospect.

"I was hoping you wouldn't bring that up, that's bruising news for Queensland rugby league fans," Lewis said.

"But look, I don't really care. If they're in there to assist in club performances, well and good. If they're doing it for the benefit of NSW, well it's certainly going to be more and more painful as those [Origin appearances] come along but it doesn't really matter to me where the players come from. I really couldn't care less as long as they perform well for their supporters and their teammates and their coach."

Lewis, the Queensland Origin icon and rugby league Immortal who is now Nine Brisbane's sports presenter, offered a word of caution to Walters in his controversial dealings with the media.

Several times in his rookie season as a head coach, Walters has given the media either misleading or inaccurate information about his team which has quickly been disproven.

The latest example was a declaration that prop Matt Lodge would remain with the club for the remainder of the season, only for him to join the Warriors days later. Walters has also been criticised by his own players for vague and confusing communication.

"I was a bit surprised to hear that [Lodge claim], we thought it was common knowledge that the move was on," Lewis said.

"If he's going to be judged on statements he makes, he's got to make sure that they're the correct ones at that time, otherwise he's going to be judged to be not correct in a lot of the things that he's stating to the media."

Walters has a new ally at the Broncos in new football boss Ikin. The former Fox Sports analyst and Broncos premiership player was on the sideline for the win over the Sharks and is setting about rebuilding the club's roster.

"I'm sure Ben was saying, 'Well, have a look at what happens, my first [game]!" Lewis said.

"He's probably been feeling under a fair bit of pressure since making that decision to come across [to the Broncos]. But it's a job that he wants to do and when he takes on a role like that, he'll give 120 per cent.

"He's one of those guys that hates losing, hates not being successful in a position that he takes up. To have him back here in Brisbane is fantastic.

"I know that a lot of the Brisbane Broncos fans, certainly their playing group, will have enormous respect for him. So will the CEO (Dave Donaghy) of the club as well, because he'll know that he'll have enormous support."

Ikin had an early win in his new role, finalising the signature of Queensland Origin player Kurt Capewell; though the move was already underway before his arrival.

The former Origin and Test playmaker once described Brisbane's retention and recruitment efforts as "disgusting" and will be trying to stop a rot that has seen stars like David Fifita and Reece Walsh lost to other clubs.

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