Signings watch: Will the Broncos re-sign a favourite son?

The Walters surname is one of royalty at the Brisbane Broncos.

With twin brothers Kevin and Kerrrod playing a combined 423 games for the Broncos, the club saw remarkable success, having won back-to-back NSWRL premierships in 1992 and 1993 with the former going on to win a further three.

That legacy has continued with Kevin's son, Billy currently representing the maroon and gold of the Broncos for the last five seasons.

But that legacy could potentially come to an end.

Having partially torn his ACL during their dramatic golden point win against the Raiders in last year’s Qualifying Final, Walters missed out on playing in their drought-breaking premiership and has not featured for the Broncos in 2026.

With the five-eighth/hooker coming out of contract at the end of the season, the 32-year-old has expressed his desire to remain at the same club that his father won five of his six NSWRL/Super League/NRL premierships.

He also admitted that he could be squeezed out of the side, given the Broncos’ surplus of hookers within their top 30 and salary cap constraints.

But according to News Corp's Peter Badel, the Broncos are keen on keeping Walters beyond his current contract, with other players likely to free up space.

“I do believe he will be re-signed, but it hasn't happened yet, which always naturally makes any player that's off contract a little bit nervous,” Badel explained on SENQ Breakfast.

“I'm told that the Broncos board have been given a list of names of players that (they) want to be retained for next year. I'm told that Billy Walters is on that list.

“Now, at the moment (I think) Jesse Arthars (will) be leaving the club.

“He may go overseas to Rugby (Union), which will free up some cash.

“They're about to sign Tom Duffy on a two-year deal, so that obviously erodes their salary cap somewhat. But Billy is a favourite son of the club.

“He was magnificent last year. He blew all that nepotism garbage out the window with the way he played last season.

“He was magnificent, and he has been for a few years, going back to the 2023 Grand Final.

“He's due to return in the next four to six weeks with that terrible ACL injury.

“I do think they'll re-sign Billy, it's just gonna be about what they can afford, but I don't see Billy wanting to go anywhere.

“He loves the Broncos, he wants to finish his career at the club, and they really need him back in the next few weeks to spark some creativity around the rucks.”

Walters is expected to return to the field in the next month.

The Broncos are looking to break their four-game losing streak when they travel to Sydney to face Wayne Bennett’s South Sydney on Thursday night at Accor Stadium.

Kick-off is at 7:50pm AEST, with SEN League having live coverage of the match from 6pm with NRL Countdown.

That can be heard across SEN’s radio network and on the SEN app.