Wayne Bennett is the hot tip to be appointed coach of the Queensland side for this year's Origin series with Kevin Walters stepping aside as he takes the reins at the Broncos on November 1.
Walters agreed to make the Broncos his sole focus from the first day he walks in the door at Red Hill when he signed a two-year-deal with Brisbane, still to be formally announced by the club, earlier this week.
He will be involved in Queensland's preparations for the Origin series right up until that time but will not be in the Maroons' coach's box at the Adelaide Oval for the November 4 series opener.
The Queensland Rugby League confirmed it would part ways with Walters in a statement this afternoon.
"It gives us an enormous amount of satisfaction to see one of the state's favourite footballing sons fulfil a career goal following his work with our pathway competitions and Queensland representative programs," QRL managing director Robert Moore said.
"As a former premiership-winning player and assistant coach with the Broncos, Kevin is a great fit for the club.
"We've always said we'd never stand in his way if a coaching opportunity he coveted came up in the NRL.
"We also know how passionate he is about the Maroons, and it hasn't been an easy step for him to let go of his Origin role with such a big series coming up.
"On behalf of the QRL board and our fans, we thank Kevin for his commitment to the Maroons and acknowledge his many achievements since he took over in 2016.
"Not only did he claim consecutive series wins, but he oversaw an injection of new talent in our Origin program with 21 players getting their first taste of Origin football over the past four years."
Speaking to The Courier-Mail, Walters endorsed Bennett as the man to take the reins for this year's unique end of season three-game series, with Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga the other leading candidate in the mix.
"There are some great candidates there, Wayne would be the ideal one they are looking at, he would do a fantastic job," Walters said.
"A lot of those guys wouldn't have been coached by Wayne, but he has his own style of coaching so it works at all levels of the game.
"He has been there and done it before which is important for the Queensland players."
Bennett has previously coached the Maroons in three separate stints, from 1986 to 1988, in 1998 and from 2001 to 2003.
In 22 games in charge, Bennett has a record of 11 wins, 10 losses and one draw. He has won four series as coach and retained the shield with a drawn series in 2002. He has lost just two of seven series at the helm.
According to multiple News Corp reports, Bennett is the QRL's favoured candidate and is likely to be announced tomorrow as the man to step into Bennett's shoes.
The QRL will finalise that decision at a board meeting tonight. As well as a new coach it is expected that the first members of the Maroons squad will be named tomorrow.
While Bennett is likely to be the man for 2020, it will be a one-off with a return to the non-club coach model that has served them so well since Meninga took the job and built a dynasty that started in 2006.
Paul Green, who was considered as a candidate to take over immediately from Walters, is the hot favourite to land the job on a multi-year deal, starting in 2021.
Wayne Bennett is the hot tip to be appointed coach of the Queensland side for this year's Origin series with Kevin Walters stepping aside as he takes the reins at the Broncos on November 1.
Walters agreed to make the Broncos his sole focus from the first day he walks in the door at Red Hill when he signed a two-year-deal with Brisbane, still to be formally announced by the club, earlier this week.
He will be involved in Queensland's preparations for the Origin series right up until that time but will not be in the Maroons' coach's box at the Adelaide Oval for the November 4 series opener.
The Queensland Rugby League confirmed it would part ways with Walters in a statement this afternoon.
"It gives us an enormous amount of satisfaction to see one of the state's favourite footballing sons fulfil a career goal following his work with our pathway competitions and Queensland representative programs," QRL managing director Robert Moore said.
"As a former premiership-winning player and assistant coach with the Broncos, Kevin is a great fit for the club.
"We've always said we'd never stand in his way if a coaching opportunity he coveted came up in the NRL.
"We also know how passionate he is about the Maroons, and it hasn't been an easy step for him to let go of his Origin role with such a big series coming up.
"On behalf of the QRL board and our fans, we thank Kevin for his commitment to the Maroons and acknowledge his many achievements since he took over in 2016.
"Not only did he claim consecutive series wins, but he oversaw an injection of new talent in our Origin program with 21 players getting their first taste of Origin football over the past four years."
Speaking to The Courier-Mail, Walters endorsed Bennett as the man to take the reins for this year's unique end of season three-game series, with Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga the other leading candidate in the mix.
"There are some great candidates there, Wayne would be the ideal one they are looking at, he would do a fantastic job," Walters said.
"A lot of those guys wouldn't have been coached by Wayne, but he has his own style of coaching so it works at all levels of the game.
"He has been there and done it before which is important for the Queensland players."
Bennett has previously coached the Maroons in three separate stints, from 1986 to 1988, in 1998 and from 2001 to 2003.
In 22 games in charge, Bennett has a record of 11 wins, 10 losses and one draw. He has won four series as coach and retained the shield with a drawn series in 2002. He has lost just two of seven series at the helm.
According to multiple News Corp reports, Bennett is the QRL's favoured candidate and is likely to be announced tomorrow as the man to step into Bennett's shoes.
The QRL will finalise that decision at a board meeting tonight. As well as a new coach it is expected that the first members of the Maroons squad will be named tomorrow.
While Bennett is likely to be the man for 2020, it will be a one-off with a return to the non-club coach model that has served them so well since Meninga took the job and built a dynasty that started in 2006.
Paul Green, who was considered as a candidate to take over immediately from Walters, is the hot favourite to land the job on a multi-year deal, starting in 2021.
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