Maroons coach Kevin Walters will reportedly rejoin the Brisbane Broncos next season as a halves coordinator in his first steps to eventually take over from Wayne Bennett as head coach.
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The Broncos are preparing their succession plan for Bennett who turns 68 in January, aware the supercoach's days are numbered in a career that dates back over 30 years.
Channel Seven's Chris Garry reports Walters has been given the green light by the QRL board who recently re-signed him on a two-year extension.
BREAKING: Kevin Walters set to be halves coach at Broncos next year. Has QRL clearance. Walters in line to replace Bennett as he should be.
— Chris Garry (@ChrisGarry7) October 22, 2017
Walters put his NRL coaching dream on hold after he rejected an opportunity to take charge of the Gold Coast Titans who are still searching for a replacement for Neil Henry.
At one point the Queensland mentor was the front tunner for the role, however he opted for a contract extension with the Maroons after two consecutive series wins.
The NRL Lurker first revealed Brisbane are also eyeing off Cowboys coach Paul Green as Bennett's successor after impressively taking North Queensland to two grand finals and a premiership title in just four years at the helm.
Walters' relationship with Bennett turned sour after the veteran coach famously sacked him as his assistant in 2015 and it continued when Bennett refused to endorse him as the Gold Coast coach.
Walters says their relationship is ''fine'' and the pair are ''good mates''.