{"id":459672,"date":"2025-07-22T21:53:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T21:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=459672"},"modified":"2025-07-22T23:15:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T23:15:45","slug":"curious-walters-call-amid-kangaroos-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=459672","title":{"rendered":"Curious Walters call amid Kangaroos announcement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kevin Walters<\/a> has been announced as the new head coach of the Kangaroos<\/a> ahead of this year's Ashes series in England.<\/p>\n

Walters takes over from Mal Mengina, who has been appointed as the inaugural coach of the Perth Bears franchise.<\/p>\n

While \ufeffcurrent Jillaroos coach Jess Skinner has been extended through to the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, Walters' appointment at this stage is for the 2025 Ashes tour.<\/p>\n

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It's understood Maroons great Cameron Smith is viewed as the long-term option for the Australian job<\/a> after expressing interest in working alongside Walters as an assistant.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Former NSW coach Brad Fittler was considered the front-runner for the job before he pulled out of the race.<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Smith was thrown up as a possible option but league bosses were concerned by his lack of head coaching experience at any level despite working as Maroons Origin assistant to Billy Slater in 2022-23.<\/p>\n

South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett was reportedly willing to take on the job for a third time, having last coached the Kangaroos in 2005.<\/p>\n

The ARLC was going to change the rules on club coaches being made available for the Kangaroos position before they dismissed such a move\ufeff before Origin III.<\/p>\n

That paved the way for Walters to be named for the first Ashes series since 2003.<\/p>\n

"The commission is very pleased to confirm Kevin Walters as the Kangaroos coach for this historic series," ARLC chair Peter V'landys said.<\/p>\n

"As Kangaroo number 612, Walters is very well placed to lead the national team on a historic tour to the UK.<\/p>\n

"Kevin has played for the Kangaroos, had a successful coaching career with Brisbane Broncos and Queensland Maroons, and will bring that expertise into the national team for the Ashes.<\/p>\n

"Kevin has toured with the Kangaroos as a player, was a leader as a player and as a coach. His coaching pedigree is a natural fit for the national team."<\/p>\n

Walters \ufeffplayed 11 Tests for the Kangaroos and was part of the 1990 and 1994 tours of Great Britain and France.<\/p>\n

"It is truly an honour and a privilege to be able to coach the Kangaroos on such a stage," Walters said.<\/p>\n

\"Kangaroos<\/p>\n

"Playing on a Kangaroos Tour was always a pinnacle as a player, so to be able to lead the best of the best in this environment is very humbling and obviously very exciting.<\/p>\n

"This series will be an important step for the growth of international rugby league and for the Kangaroos. I can't wait to get started."<\/p>\n

The appointment marks a comeback to the coaching ranks for Walters, who was sacked by the Broncos in 2024 after taking the club to the NRL decider the year before.<\/p>\n

Walters also coached Queensland in four State of Origin series from 2016-2019, winning two series.<\/p>\n

Skinner, who led the Jillaroos \ufeffto a 90-4 win over England in Las Vegas earlier this year, said the being offered the chance to stay on as national coach is a "real honour."<\/p>\n

"I've really enjoyed the chance to coach at this level, so to be given the opportunity to coach the Jillaroos through the 2026 World Cup is incredibly exciting," she said.<\/p>\n

"The women's game is experiencing continued and significant growth, so to be part of the journey at this level is a real honour."<\/p>\n

The Ashes Tour will include Test matches at Wembley Stadium on October 25, Everton Stadium on November 1 and Headingley on November 8, while the Jillaroos will compete for the Pacific Championships in October this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kevin Walters has been announced as the new head coach of the Kangaroos ahead of this year's Ashes series in England. Walters takes over from […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":459679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459672"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=459672"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":459687,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459672\/revisions\/459687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/459679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=459672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=459672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=459672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}