Newly-appointed St Helens coach Kevin Walters still has unfinished business Down Under. Before swapping the green and gold of Australia for the red and white of Saints in 2027, he tells Rugby League World why leading the Kangaroos at a home World Cup means so much to him.

KANGAROOS coach Kevin Walters has a surprising choice as his inspirational hero. Anyone familiar with State of Origin history would be aware that firebrand New South Wales halfback Tommy Raudonikis hated the Queensland ’cane toads’ with a deep passion. 

So much so that as coach of the Blues he invented the famous ’cattle dog’ code call to start an all-in brawl in the hope of swinging the momentum away from the Maroons. Walters, a proud Queenslander who played 20 matches for the Maroons, says it was Tommy’s competitive spirit that he admired.

“Tommy was one of my first senior coaches, and I just love the way he went about his football. So competitive, so he’s always an inspiration. He’s no longer with us unfortunately,” Walters, who also nominated his family as his heroes, said.

The Raudonikis-style spirit and love for the jersey is exactly what he wants to see from his Australian team members heading to the World Cup, especially given the relaxation of international rugby league rules around switching between nations.

“I just want it to be their jersey of choice, not something that they feel they have to play for, because there are some options. I understand in the modern game there are lots of different nationalities playing our game and different cultures, so we want the players that are wearing the Kangaroos jersey to want to really play for their country, and that’s what happened last year on the Ashes tour. We assembled a group of guys that really were keen and they wanted to wear the Australian jersey, and that’ll be the same case this year.”

For Walters, who had the privilege of playing 11 international matches in the green and gold jersey, there has never been a question of where his loyalties lie.

“I remember getting up and watching the Kangaroos on tours. My earliest memory is watching Australia play in the late 1970s. I think Australia actually trained up in Ipswich (Walters’ home town) when I was about 11 or 12 years old, and we went and watched them train. From that moment forward, after seeing these guys on television then seeing them live, it became a bit of a reality.

“It was certainly one of my goals to coach Queensland and Australia at some stage throughout my career, and I’m fortunate to get the opportunity now. I’m very grateful for that. It is something that I did really want to get an opportunity to do in my life, so I’m glad that that’s happened and is still happening.

“Coaching Australia is a very privileged job, obviously, and particularly with the success that Australia have had as well. It’s great to have the tournament here, and we’ve got games in Sydney, Brisbane, and Townsville, so it’ll be a wonderful opportunity for our guys to prepare well and play well at the tournament.”

Walters was happy to walk away from the Ashes tour last year with a clean sweep, claiming victory over England in all three Tests, but he is acutely aware that Australia will need to go up a notch and realise their potential if they are to secure their 13th title and fourth consecutive World Cup triumph.

“We know England will be a lot stronger. They’ve got a good few of their players playing in the NRL, which is always good for their development. Obviously New Zealand, Tonga and Samoa have all got a lot of players now playing in the NRL, so that makes for a much stronger world competition, and particularly here in Australia, where they’re very familiar with the grounds and the surroundings.”

Traditionally Australia has looked to select players that have done the job for their country in the past, and the coach says that will come into consideration when selecting the squad, along with State of Origin and finals form.

“We give a lot of respect to players that have worn the jersey in the past and done well. Certainly State of Origin is a big cue for us and has been for a long time for the Australian jersey. Although the rules have changed now as far as countries that they can play for, it still hasn’t changed with us as we’ve still had a big chunk of players playing for both Queensland and New South Wales, which is very important. Then of course, the finals series and every time an Australian team is picked at the end of the year, there’s always two or three players that come from the Grand Final that, if they weren’t in the side, they could force their way into this team based purely on their performances throughout the finals series.”

With the calibre of player available to the Australian team, Walters knows his role is as much about unifying the group as it is about tactical decisions.

“I see my major role as making sure these players are connected, actually care about each other, care about the jersey that they’re wearing, and they want to play well for each other, and for themselves. If we can get that, that’s my mentality, and I’m pretty sure with the group that we will select, that’ll be a really strong character of the side.

“We’re very fortunate to have a home World Cup. That should be a huge advantage for us with our fans and everything else that goes with it.

“I’m really enjoying my role as the Australian coach. It’s really great working with our elite players and staff. We had a really good team last year of staff members, which I really appreciated as well. So that’ll be the case again for the World Cup once we assemble everyone. We just march forward, and it’s really enjoyable and also very rewarding.”

The Kangaroos are in Pool A of the 2026 World Cup along with Cook Islands, Fiji and New Zealand. They open their campaign against New Zealand in Sydney on Thursday, 15th October, before meeting Fiji in Brisbane on Sunday, 25th October and Cook Islands in Townsville on Saturday, 31st October.

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 524 (September 2026)