‘You can see how much it means to him': Kangaroos skipper endorses Kevin Walters to take over as the next coach of the national side
Walters will replace Mal Meninga, who stepped down to focus on his new role as inaugural coach of the Perth Bears, with Yeo relieved they've settled on someone who can now start planning for the Ashes tour that begins in October.
Yeo found out through the media that Walters would be taking over and has endorsed the former Broncos and Maroons coach to lead the national side even though it hasn't been formally announced.
'He's come out and said how much of an honour it'll be to be able to coach Brisbane, Queensland and his last one was going to be Australia,' the Golden Boot winner said.
'I'm super excited for him. You can see how much it means to him already and I'd love to be a part of it with him.
'That was a bit before my time (watching him play), but you hear stories about how good he was.
'You can see how much he meant to the players by talking to the Broncos boys. If it wasn't for Nathan Cleary (killing it) for 16 or 17 minutes, then he'd be a premiership-winning coach.
'Everyone I've spoken to has massive raps on him.'
Wayne Bennett had been in the mix to take over but was eventually ruled out given he coaches an NRL side, while Immortal-in-waiting Cameron Smith was also in contention after Brad Fittler pulled out of the race.
One of the reasons Fittler didn't take the job was because there were only a few months to go until the Tests started and there was still so much planning to do for matches overseas.
It's why Yeo is happy that they've gone with someone who has no links to club land, with Walters keeping himself busy with his media work with Fox Sports.
'It helps now with how late it's been because it'd be hard being an NRL coach and having to worry about a push to the finals and then you're trying to do this stuff on top of it,' Yeo said.
'He's been pretty busy, Kev, doing a lot with Fox at the moment, but it certainly helps because he's now got three months to try to figure it out.
'That's probably where it's gotten a little bit hard for whoever was going to come in because it's going to be rushed for them. It's nice that it's all done and sealed and we can now get to planning what will hopefully be a successful series over there.
'You'd love to be a part of it because of the history behind it and what it means to the English – not just the players – but the fans over there and how passionate they are. I like anything to do with history, so it'd be really cool to be a part of.'
Walters played in the 1992 Ashes series and will bring plenty of passion when the rivalry returns after a 22-year hiatus.
Yeo doesn't remember much from the 2003 series but is expecting a tight contest just 12 months out from the next World Cup.
'I would have been too young. I do remember getting up and watching England games, but that was really rare and those were really early memories,' he said.
'You hear about the tours and how outstanding they were. We were lucky enough to play a World Cup over there.
'You can feel that England have been building towards this. They had the disappointment of the World Cup, but then they had the Tonga and the Samoa series and they've been building towards something with this group under Shaun Wane.
'You can tell it's going to be a cracking series, and those are the ones you want to be in. Any time you pull on the Australian jersey is the pinnacle of the sport, but to be able to do that in a series like that is awesome.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

News.com.au
19 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Streets Of Avalon's $350,000 half-brother Bradford to debut at Sale on Thursday
Mornington trainer Shane Nichols didn't mind supporting a move away from a formula that produced a dual Group 1 winner. Streets Of Avalon won two Group 1 races among six stakes successes as a result of the union between stallion Magnus and the Black Minnaloushe mare Kamuniak. The breeding match also produced city-class gallopers Eugenius and Orlando Grove. However, Streets Of Avalon's breeders decided to change this for Kamuniak's 2022 stud season, sending the mare to champion stallion Written Tycoon. Nichols paid $350,000 for the resulting colt, Bradford, which will debut at Sale on Thursday. 'It's a great mix of owners, a few new clients and some old clients that have been with me for years so it should be good,' Nichols said. The trainer said the different sire brought a superior specimen to Bradford's half-siblings. 'He's bigger, stronger and has more length than all the others,' Nichols said. 'He's a better type than Streets Of Avalon, Eugenius, Orlando Grove and Kentucky Woman, better than all of them.' Bradford is a $26 in early betting on the Vale Peta Tait Maiden Plate (1210m), a race named in honour of a stablehand that died in a Cranbourne stable tragedy earlier this month. The rising three-year-old finished third and fourth in jumpouts leading up to his race debut but Nichols said the results were a secondary consideration. 'We're just trying to educate him in his jumpouts because there's no money in jumpouts,' Nichols said. 'He'll definitely be competitive first-up'. Meanwhile, Nichols said his sole Flemington acceptor Fenestella was all but certain to miss Saturday's TAB We're On (1410m) in preference for a provincial maiden.

News.com.au
40 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Brad Waters' best bets and value play for Sale races Thursday
Form expert Brad Waters analyses Thursday's Sale meeting, presenting his best bets, value selection and jockey to follow.

The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
Brad Waters' Sale tips: Thursday, July 31, 2025
News Corp form analyst Brad Waters looks at Thursday's eight-race card at Sale, presenting his best bets, jockey to follow and lay of the day. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ BEST BET WALK OF FAME (Race 7 No.8): The Danny O'Brien-trained mare has gone well in two spaced runs this time in. She'll be fitter again and the class drop will be perfect for her. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ NEXT BEST KAMPOR (Race 3 No.10): Gave a start before running on well behind an impressive winner at Wangaratta on debut. She'll be much better for the experience and has drawn perfectly. CLINCHED (Race 5 No.5): The seven-year-old is hard fit and racing in terrific form in the Gippsland area. He has a tricky gate but his form is more than good enough for this assignment. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ VALUE BET RAVEN'S SILVER (Race 6 No.4): The gelding sprinted well from midfield to win an easier race at Wangaratta first-up earlier this month. He'll be improved and could handle the class rise. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ LAY OF THE DAY SEMELLE ROUGE (Race 2 No. 14 – $2.90): The first-starter has trialled well leading up to her debut but several of her opposition have also shown ability at the jumpouts. The awkward gate also suggests she's under the odds. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ THE JOCKEY – BEN MELHAM Jockey Ben Melham heads to Sale for five rides on Thursday. BEST OF THE BEST (Race 1 No.1), WILLIE SUNSHINE (Race 4 No.6), DO IT NOW (Race 6 No.10), JUSTDOIT (Race 7 No.3), SHEZAVIXEN (Race 8 No.11). Read related topics: News Corporation