'He'd love to be here': Billy Walters opens up on dad's 'bittersweet' feeling ahead of grand final
Injured Broncos utility Billy Walters has opened up on how his father, Kevin, will be feeling ahead of the grand final after he was sacked last year.
The Broncos, heavily impacted by injuries at the time, missed out on finals in 2024 and an end of season review led to the club legend losing his job.
Michael Maguire took the head coaching role and is now 80 minutes away from delivering a premiership in his first season.
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Billy admitted it would be a "bittersweet" feeling for his dad.
"I know he'd love to be here, he's a passionate Broncos man and he built this team to what it is and I know he'd love to be coaching the team on the weekend but that's just the way footy goes sometimes," Billy told 9News Queensland.
Billy and Kevin Walters. Nine/Getty
"He's proud, he's happy for all the boys, he still keeps in touch with a lot of them."
Billy himself will miss out on the grand final after injuring his ACL against the Raiders in the qualifying final.
"It was pretty upsetting to know I was going to miss the two biggest games of the year. It was pretty heartbreaking to be honest," he said.
"It's a bit of a bittersweet feeling I guess, I was really happy the boys were able to get the job done against Penrith last week and make the grand final ... also feeling a little bit sad I wasn't out there to help them do it or Sunday won't be the biggest game of the year."
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The younger Walters admitted he was a "nervous wreck" watching the preliminary final win over the Panthers.
Maguire has kept the utility involved though, inviting him on stage when the grand final teams faced off before the grand final press conference.
"It's really nice for Madge to let me be apart of this week as much as I can, as much as I'd like to be out there playing, I still feel like I'm part of it sitting on the sidelines," he said.
