Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters has extensively discussed his surprising choice to leave Australia after the 2026 World Cup, opting to join Super League club St Helens.
In an interview on the Inside Ball podcast, the 58-year-old shared that his three-year coaching contract was set in motion during a casual conversation over drinks with St Helens chairman Eamon McManus last October in Liverpool.
"Last year on the Kangaroo Tour I bumped into Eamon McManus and we had a couple of beers when we were in Liverpool," Walters recounted.
"He's a great rugby league person particularly for St. Helens and the English Rugby League, he's the owner of St Helens as well and we just clicked, we got along really well."
Despite their immediate connection, Walters noted that their conversation initially focused on friendship rather than coaching.
"Nothing was spoken about coaching or anything like that," he said.
"It was just nice to finally meet him because St Helens have been a powerhouse since the Super League started in England. They've won more premierships than any other and they're rich in history… 1873 they were formed."
He appreciates McManus's perspective on the game and believes this opportunity feels right at this stage of his career.
However, he acknowledged that stepping away from his role with Australia wasn't straightforward.
"That was a hard thing," he stated.
"That was the non-negotiator… that I coached (Australia at the World Cup). We'll finish that and then I'll go over to England; their preseason will have just started or be about to start by then."
Walters expressed enthusiasm about the future of the Super League and the potential boost from NRL partnerships.
"English Super League is the next best competition to the NRL," he remarked.
"With the expansion of the NRL clubs, two new clubs and the NRL talking like they're trying to buy into Super League, I feel that could only be good for the game over there as well."
He bluntly shared that coaching is his primary passion.
"Coaching is my passion," he declared.
"I love doing this podcast, I love my work on Fox, but if I could say only one thing, it's coaching."
Walters humorously compared St Helens to the Brisbane Broncos, the club where he nearly achieved an NRL premiership as both player and coach in 2023.
"(St Helens) is a wonderful opportunity at a big club that's had great success," he noted.
"Not all that much different to the Broncos really, except when I took over the Broncos they were dead set last - these guys are sitting mid-table," he grinned.
He has inked a three-year contract with St Helens that lasts until the end of the 2029 season.
Previously, he coached Catalans Dragons from 2009 to 2010.