Kerrod Walters

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Kerrod Walters
Personal information
Full name Kerrod Walters
Date of birth October 20, 1967 (1967-10-20) (age 40)
Place of birth Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
Youth clubs
Years Club
Ipswich Jets
Senior clubs*
Years Club Apps (points)
1988-2000
1997-1998		 Brisbane Broncos
Adelaide Rams		 182 (92)
41 (16)
Representative teams
1989-1994
1989-1992		 Queensland Maroons
Australian Kangaroos		 6 (8)
8 (4)

* Professional club appearances and points
counted for domestic first grade only.

Kerrod Walters (born 20 October, 1967 in Rockhampton, Queensland) is an Australian former rugby league player. With twin brother Kevin and older brother Steve, Kerrod Walters holds a unique place in Australian League history.

Australia 1989-92: 8 Tests - 1t (4 pts)
Queensland 1989-94: 6 games - 2t (8 pts)
Brisbane Broncos 1988-1996 & 2000: 206 games – 23t (92 pts)
Adelaide Rams 1997-98: 41 games – 4t (16 pts)
Gateshead 1999

Hailing from Ipswich (but Rockhampton-born), Kerrod Walters first showed his talent with the Ipswich Jets alongside brother Kevin and Allan Langer. This combination later became known as "the Ipswich connection". In 1988 he and Langer joined the Broncos.

In 1989 Walters represented Queensland, being named man-of-the-match in the third game of that year's State of Origin series and was also chosen as Australian hooker over Greg Conescu. He played for Australia in the three-Test series against New Zealand that year.

In 1990 he out-pointed New South Wales hooker Ben Elias to play further Tests against New Zealand 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 Western Suburbs Magpies forward Graeme Wynn in a club match, and his resulting two-week suspension opened the way for brother Steve to come into both the Queensland and Australian teams. This connection continued when Steve Walters was injured on the 1991 tour of Papua New Guinea and Kerrod was called up to replace him.

The Walters 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. 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. That year he was awarded the Broncos' player of the year.

After the Broncos' back-to-back grand final win 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, the Adelaide Rams. 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 resembling 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 1999 season, Walters signed a one-year deal with the Broncos but played in just one match from the interchange bench during the 2000 season. That year he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league.

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