Kerrod Walters

With twin brother Kevin and older brother Steve, Kerrod Walters holds a unique place in Australian League history. The brothers had already become the first trio to play for Queensland and Australia when, in 1992, they achieved another milestone when all three were selected to tour with the World Cup squad. (Kerrod and Kevin Walters also hold the distinction of being the only twin brothers to play rugby league for Australia). Hailing from Ipswich (but Rockhampton-born), Kerrod Walters was first to show his talents with the Ipswich ‘Jets’ (the same club as Allan Langer) before joining the Broncos. In 1989 Walters was preferred to Test rake Greg Conescu by Bronco coach Wayne Bennett and he also represented Queensland and Australia, in the three-Test series against NZ, that year. In 1990 he out-pointed NSW hooker Ben Elias to play further Tests against NZ and France but after the shock First Test loss to Great Britain on the Kangaroo tour, he was replaced by Elias for the remainder of the tour. The following year Walters was sent off for punching Wests forward Graeme Wynn in a club match and his two-week suspension left the way for brother Steve to come into both the Queensland and Australian teams. The ‘brotherly connection’ continued when Steve Walters was injured on the 1991 tour of Papua New Guinea and Kerrod was called up to replace him. While Kerrod did not appear in a Test match during 1992, he played his role in the Broncos' grand final and World Club Championship wins and joined his brothers in Australia's World Cup squad at the end of the year. After back-to-back grand final wins in 1993, Walters made his final appearance for Queensland the following year. In 1996 he was cut from the Broncos and signed with Super League club Adelaide. In his second season with the Rams, he was dropped from first grade (after a falling out with coach Rod Reddy) but returned to something like his best form late in the season after Reddy’s sacking. When the club folded at the end of 1998 Walters joined Gateshead in the English Super League but returned to Australia midway through the 1999 season after his wife was injured in a car accident while on holiday in Thailand. At the end of the season, Walters signed a one-year deal with the Broncos but played in just one match from the interchange bench during the 2000 season.