NRL 2023: Canterbury Bulldogs pay $500,000 transfer fee for Brisbane Broncos rising star Karl Oloapu
The Broncos have secured a massive transfer fee bonanza after releasing disgruntled teen Karl Oloapu to the Canterbury Bulldogs, leaving their new cross-town rivals fuming.
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The Broncos and Dolphins are at war after Brisbane blocked rising star Karl Oloapu from joining their cross-city rivals and secured a $500,000 bonanza from Phil Gould’s Bulldogs.
Oloapu, 18, is officially no longer a Bronco after being released from his three-year contract at Red Hill to join Canterbury.
The disgruntled teenager waged a six-month battle to leave Brisbane following a messy pay dispute as he chased an upgraded contract with a new manager.
The Broncos believe the Dolphins were willing to offer Oloapu up to double what his three-year contract was worth, prompting furious Brisbane officials to report the expansion club’s recruitment tactics to the NRL.
After initially denying a release request, the Broncos placed a $500,000 bounty on Oloapu – a Queensland schoolboys star rated one of the best junior talents in the country – to leave the club.
And the release terms came with a catch – he would not be allowed out of his Broncos deal to sign with the Dolphins, setting the scene for a fiery Battle of Brisbane rivalry.
The Warriors, another club upset with the Dolphins, last year placed similar terms on rising fullback Reece Walsh, paving the way for his return to the Broncos.
The $500,000 transfer fee – to be paid by Oloapu’s new club to the Broncos – was unprecedented for a junior yet to feature in the NRL.
But that hasn’t scared off cashed-up Canterbury and their football chief “Gus” Gould, who stumped up the transfer fee to secure Oloapu immediately on a four-year contract.
Having already signed the likes of Viliame Kikau (Penrith) and Reed Mahoney (Parramatta), Gould is leaving no stone unturned in his quest to transform the Bulldogs from wooden spoon collectors to premiership contenders under new coach Cameron Ciraldo.
The transfer fee will go straight on to Brisbane’s bottom line and sit outside the salary cap.
“Whilst this was a unique situation, we are comfortable with the position we have reached with the Bulldogs and as a result, we have granted Karl an early release,” Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy said.
“We wish him well for the future.”
As the relationship turned ugly last year, Oloapu was reported to have said: “I will never play for Brisbane as long as I live.”
Upon his release from the Broncos, the Wavell State High School prodigy thanked Brisbane after graduating their junior program.
“I’m grateful for what I learnt at the Broncos Academy and to the staff that played a role in my development during my years in the program,” he said.
“I’m also grateful to the Broncos for providing an early release from my contract.”
Oloapu will move straight into Canterbury’s top 30 squad and push for his NRL debut this season.
But his shift to Belmore got off to a rocky start, with the Bulldogs bungling the announcement.
In an official media release, the Bulldogs spelt Oloapu’s surname “Opoalu” multiple times before later issuing a corrected statement.
BULLDOGS PAY $500K FOR BRONCOS’ RISING STAR
Bulldogs boss Phil Gould is on the verge of paying an exorbitant $500,000 transfer fee to the Broncos to sign disgruntled Brisbane teenager Karl Oloapu.
The Courier Mail can reveal Oloapu has been released from his Broncos contract following a messy six-month spat with the club.
Rated one of the best young talents in the country, Oloapu is being courted by Canterbury to join the club immediately and has already met with Canterbury supremo “Gus” Gould.
The Bulldogs are weighing up paying the Broncos an insane transfer fee - outside the NRL’s salary cap - to secure Oloapu.
Oloapu’s release brings an end to an ugly falling out which was triggered by the 18-year-old and his new management wanting to renegotiate a three-year contract signed in January last year.
Oloapu, 18, wanted a significant salary upgrade and promotion to Brisbane’s top 30 after graduating from Wavell State High School last year, but the Broncos refused to budge.
That prompted Oloapu to refuse to train with the Broncos and declare: “I will never play for Brisbane as long as I live.”
Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy said: “Whilst this was a unique situation, we are comfortable with the position we have reached with the Bulldogs and as a result, we have granted Karl an early release.
“We wish him well for the future.”
Oloapu said: “I’m grateful for what I learnt at the Broncos Academy and to the staff that played a role in my development during my years in the program.
“I’m also grateful to the Broncos for providing an early release from my contract.”
The Broncos held out hope of saving the situation, however it became untenable and Brisbane bosses placed an unprecedented $500,000 bounty on the Queensland schoolboys star.
While the Broncos have released Oloapu, they are set to block a proposed move to cross-town rivals the Dolphins.
The NRL expansion club were desperate to sign the Redcliffe junior and had been accused of breaking the NRL’s contracting rules by attempting to entice Oloapu out of his Brisbane contract.
That left a bad taste in the mouths of the Broncos.
With Oloapu hitting the open market, Gould is set to pay the transfer fee as he continues his seismic rebuild of the battling Bulldogs.
If he heads to Belmore, it will set up a mouth-watering showdown between the Broncos and Bulldogs once Oloapu is, as expected, playing in the NRL.
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