Broncos offer Walters his dream coaching job

The Brisbane Broncos have told Kevin Walters he has won the race to be the next head coach of the club after edging out Paul Green for the coveted role.

Walters, the current Maroons coach and five-time Broncos premiership winner, was in a two-horse race with the former Cowboys coach and 2015 premiership winner to replace Anthony Seibold.

Queensland Rugby League chairman Bruce Hatcher is expecting Walters will be required to focus solely on the Broncos role and the QRL has formed a committee to investigate options for a coach for the upcoming series.

The club is yet to make an official statement on Walters but is expected to announce his appointment in the next day or two.

Brisbane Broncos Old Boys chairman Chris Johns said Walters was a "man for his time" who understood what the club needed to turn around a dire season which ended with wooden spoon for the first time.

"Kevin will be a godsend for the Broncos," Johns told NRL.com.

"I think it should have happened two years ago but finally commonsense has prevailed and he will prove all the doubters wrong.

"Those of us who know what he can do, will be vindicated.

"The Broncos can be proud, because Kevin is exactly what the club and the players need. History will report on what a good decision this is."

Johns said "every single old boy" would welcome the decision and added the Broncos board had recognised Walters was not just a popular choice but the wise choice after serving a long and successful apprenticeship.

"He has done a great job with the Maroons and has had success as an assistant coach with Melbourne, and the Broncos when they last went to a grand final in 2015," Johns said.

"Kevin took Ipswich from down the bottom of the ladder to a Queensland Cup grand final and had success in France with Catalans."

NRL.com spoke to Hatcher on Monday night as news broke of Walters being offered the role. The QRL chairman had earlier said he hoped Walters would get the job, but now the board will turn their attention to a replacement at the Maroons helm.

"I congratulate Kevin on being successful and await a phone call from the appropriate person at the Broncos to tell us what that all means," Hatcher told NRL.com.

"In between now and the end of the season we have to play an Origin series and he is our coach."

With Wayne Bennett, Green and Mal Meninga a possible replacement for Walters, Hatcher said work had already begun on appointing his successor.

"We have got a committee looking at all aspects of who will best suit the job," he said.

Earlier on Monday, it was announced that Broncos interim coach Peter Gentle had joined St George Illawarra to be an assistant alongside Matthew Elliott under incoming coach Anthony Griffin.