NRL 2021: Brisbane Broncos chase Mitchell Moses, Adam Reynolds as Tom Dearden weighs up future
Brisbane have been linked with both Adam Reynolds and Mitch Moses, but Kevin Walters insists the priority is re-signing rising star Tom Dearden.
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Brisbane coach Kevin Walters has reaffirmed the Broncos’ commitment to retaining Tom Dearden as speculation around the club’s interest in Adam Reynolds and Mitchell Moses heats up.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow night’s clash against Parramatta in Darwin, Walters said the club’s signing priorities are young half Tom Dearden and star centre Kotoni Staggs, ahead of Reynolds and Moses.
“We are very happy with our situation at the moment, speaking to the Kotoni Staggs situation, trying to sign Kotoni and having a good look at Tommy Dearden as well. He is part of our systems so at this stage we are not looking outside the circle,” Walters said.
“If you wear a seven jumper these days you are linked to the Broncos, so that part of it… we are a big club, we are a strong club. It’s great to know other players want to come and play at the Broncos, that’s what it is all about.
“For us, we have our structures around what we will be doing and won’t be going outside those structures.”
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The Cowboys have upped the ante in their bid to lure Dearden, who along with Anthony Milford are off-contract at Redhill, to Townsville in season 2022 but Walters remains “confident” the Broncos will stave off the Cowboys’ poaching attempts.
“We don’t anticipate losing Tom,” Walters said.
“He has been a good player for us in our systems and he’s still learning the game but we see little bits of improvement in Tom each week and we expect that again tomorrow night from him… no problems there with Tommy.”
Brisbane have identified Adam Reynolds as a priority target ahead of Mitchell Moses with the Broncos facing an outlay of more than $800,000 to poach the Parramatta playmaker.
The Broncos will get a close-up view of Moses’ playmaking pedigree when the Parramatta halfback attempts to hand Brisbane their sixth loss in seven games at Darwin’s TIO Stadium on Friday night.
The Broncos have been linked with Moses since 2017, when Brisbane recruitment chiefs held advanced negotiations with the former NSW under-20s star as he prepared to leave the Wests Tigers.
Ultimately, the Broncos’ pursuit of Moses collapsed when then coach Wayne Bennett overruled the club’s recruitment-and-retention committee, arguing he was not convinced the playmaker could break Brisbane’s premiership drought.
Now the Broncos are again being tossed up as a potential home for Moses, who has an option in his favour for next season, ostensibly meaning he can negotiate with rival clubs immediately.
Money, or a lack of it, shapes as an impediment for a Moses-Broncos alliance.
Moses, who takes on the Broncos this Friday night in Darwin, is hoping to stay at the Eels but refused to rule of a move to a rival outfit.
“I‘d love to stay at the Eels, that’s my main thing, I’ve made that clear to them but that’s up them now if they want to keep me or if my management will sort it all out,” Moses said.
“When a contract ready to go my management will let me know.”
It is understood Moses is seeking around $800,000 on an upgraded deal and the Broncos, as reigning wooden spooners, would more likely be facing a $900,000 package to convince the 26-year-old to leave Sydney.
For that reason alone, Brisbane are prioritising South Sydney veteran Reynolds, who will leave Redfern at season’s end and comes at a cheaper rate, looking at a three-year deal worth around $700,000 annually.
On the score of achievement, Brisbane chiefs believe Reynolds has Moses covered.
While Reynolds has represented NSW and steered Souths to their first premiership in 43 years in 2014, Moses has yet to play State of Origin and the jury is out on whether he has the big-match temperament to take the Eels to a title.
The Broncos are juggling salary-cap pressures and if off-contract Kotoni Staggs accepts a $2.8 million upgrade, as expected, in the coming weeks, Brisbane will struggle to nudge the $1 million mark to afford Moses.
Moses indicated any decision would be motivated by a desire to win a NRL title but also conceded he had not made a “premiership pact” with teammates to remain at the club in a bid to break the Eels’ 35-year drought.
“The ultimate goal is to get a premiership,” Moses said.
“But everyone is different Everyone is in a different situation and different ages, all those types of things.
“It gets tossed around [premiership pact] every now and then but nothing in depth.
“The way footy is at the moment everyone looks after themselves and that‘s how it is.”
Moses has three weeks to activate a player option in his favour to remain at the Eels in season 2022.
It’s understood, the Eels want to retain Moses long term and the two parties are in discussions about the length of the deal.
While Rabbitohs halfback Reynolds only has a one-year extension on the table at Redfern, and like Moses, is seeking a long term deal.
Brisbane have held preliminary discussions with Reynolds, but are not confident the father of four will relocate his family to embark on a new challenge at the Broncos.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters said the Broncos faced an uphill battle to afford Moses as they look to also retain off-contract rookie halfback Tom Dearden, who has fielded a three-year offer from Queensland arch-rivals the Cowboys.
“Adam Reynolds is a good player and there is some interest in him, but we need to tie up Kotoni Staggs first and if and when we do that, we will look at our other scrumbase options,” Walters said.
HOLY MOSES: BRONCOS SET SIGHTS ON EELS PLAYMAKER
—Brent Read
Brisbane are ready to expand their search for a new playmaker to include Parramatta’s Mitchell Moses as they brace for half Tom Dearden to make a call on his future within days.
Moses has an option in his contract for next season at the Eels and The Australian understands he is firmly on the Broncos’ radar as they consider their options in the event that Dearden – who Brisbane want to keep – agrees to join North Queensland.
Brisbane are also in the mix for South Sydney’s Adam Reynolds, although they could yet face competition from Cronulla for the veteran playmaker.
Dearden’s future, along with that of Kotoni Staggs, holds the key for the Broncos.
North Queensland officials have grown increasingly confident of signing the youngster in recent days, having pursued him for months.
They are expected to confirm the signing of Cronulla veteran Chad Townsend as early as Wednesday, the premiership-winning No. 7 understood to have agreed a three-year deal worth upwards of $2 million.
There is a view that Townsend would provide the perfect mentor for Dearden, who came to first grade with huge raps but is yet to prove beyond any doubt that he is the answer to the Broncos’ halves conundrum.
Reynolds is the sort of experienced figure the Broncos crave, although so is Moses.
The Eels half has an extension on the table from Parramatta for one more season beyond next year, but has thus far declined to take it up as he chases a longer-term deal.
He has been on the Broncos’ radar in the past.
The club was offered the chance to sign Moses a few years back but opted to stay the course with Anthony Milford and hope that Dearden would come through.
In hindsight, it was a mistake.
Milford has struggled to the point where he is now playing in the Intrust Super Cup while Dearden is far from the finished article and is now considering seeking greener pastures in Townsville.
Moses, meanwhile, has been a star for the Eels, although that hasn’t convinced Parramatta to extend their faith beyond 2022.
The club insists they want to keep him and Moses has publicly stated his desire to stay.
He has until round 10 to exercise his option with Parramatta but revelations that Brisbane are monitoring his situation come as the two clubs prepare to face each other on Friday night in Darwin.
Should Moses rip the Broncos to shreds, it could convince Brisbane officials that he is the answer to their problem.
The Eels, coincidentally, are among the clubs pursuing Staggs.
There is no question change is on the way at the Broncos.
As revealed in The Weekend Australian, the club is expected to begin reshaping its salary cap in coming weeks by attempting to move some of their more expensive players.
The Broncos are overloaded with highly paid middle forwards and there had been talk that Tevita Pangai would be allowed to leave, although it is understood he has been told that is not the case.
Matt Lodge could instead be tapped on the shoulder, although the Broncos gave him permission to leave in the off-season and he was unable to find a home.
Any room Brisbane can create is likely to be directed to keep Staggs and potentially sign a half on big money.
The Cowboys are already making moves.
A scrumbase combination of Townsend and Dearden would no doubt spell the end of North Queensland’s pursuit of Reynolds and could also mean that utility Scott Drinkwater is on the lookout for a new club — Drinkwater is off contract at the end of the season.
Townsend had options in his contract for next season and the year after at the Sharks, but it is understood the Cowboys offered an additional year to the 30-year-old.
Dearden is at the opposite end of his career, having only just begun his time in first grade. However, the Cowboys have made no attempt to hide their pursuit of the 20-year-old, who played his junior rugby league in Mackay before moving to the Gold Coast and attending famed rugby league nursery Palm Beach Currumbin State High School.
The state of flux among halves across the NRL threatens to stir a relatively dormant player market into life.
Canterbury continue to flex their financial muscles after holding talks with Penrith centre Brent Naden on Monday night. Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett met Naden and his family at Canterbury Leagues Club, part of his attempt to convince the Panthers back to join the club next season.
The Wests Tigers and Parramatta have also expressed an interest in Naden, who is yet to play in first grade this season.
He has struggled to break into the Panthers side in 2021, having served a suspension in the off-season for failing an illicit drug test. Penrith coach Ivan Cleary then deemed Naden would be ineligible for the first month of the season as a further punishment.
Barrett has been desperate to add quality to his side following their winless start to the year. The club has already signed Matt Burton and Josh Addo-Carr for 2022 and Naden would add quality to their backline.
DEARDEN OR REYNOLDS? BRONCOS’ MASSIVE HALFBACK CALL
—Peter Badel
Brisbane coach Kevin Walters is under mounting pressure to make a call on Tom Dearden following revelations the Broncos have held talks with rival South Sydney halfback Adam Reynolds.
The Courier-Mail can reveal Brisbane’s recruitment-and-retention committee have taken their interest in Reynolds to the next level by contacting the Rabbitohs veteran in recent days to gauge his interest in a move to Queensland.
That turns up the heat on off-contract Brisbane halfback Dearden, who has fielded two offers, including a $1 million-plus deal from the Cowboys — but has heard nothing from the Broncos about his future.
While Dearden’s preference is to remain at Red Hill, the promising 20-year-old playmaker can’t advance his career at the Broncos without an actual contract to sign.
The Cowboys are sweating on answer from Dearden. Having reached a verbal agreement with Sharks veteran Chad Townsend, North Queensland want to partner him with Dearden next season, prompting the Brisbane rookie‘s manager to seek some clarity from the Broncos.
“We haven’t received an offer yet from the Broncos so we’d like an indication of where we stand with them,” Dearden’s manager Sam Ayoub said.
“Tom is one of the most talented young playmakers in the game and I can assure you there is no shortage of interest in him.
“Tom has a number of offers to consider. The Cowboys have been very persistent with their interest in him, so the ball is now in Brisbane’s court and we’d like a reasonable determination from them on his future.”
The jury remains out on whether the inexperienced Dearden is the playmaker that can break Brisbane’s 15-year premiership drought.
For all his talent, Dearden has lost 14 consecutive games as Brisbane’s starting No.7 and hasn’t tasted victory as a halfback in almost two years dating back to the Broncos’ 8-2 defeat of the Warriors in round 11 of the 2019 season.
That is of no concern to the Cowboys, who have tabled a three-year deal to Dearden, with club champion Johnathan Thurston rating the former Australian Schoolboy a 10-year NRL player.
Brisbane’s offer to Dearden hinges on their ability to lure Reynolds to Red Hill.
It is understood the Broncos have had informal dialogue with Reynolds, who turns 31 in July.
The Souths maestro is seeking a three-year deal worth around $700,000 a season, but Brisbane have yet to table a formal offer, uncertain if Reynolds, a father of four, is prepared to relocate his family to Queensland.
Walters insists his interest in Reynolds does not mean he has ruled out signing Dearden to a new deal. The Broncos view Reynolds as a possible mentor to Dearden.
“I am confident we will keep Tom and our off-contract players, we’re not there yet but we will get there,” Walters said. “We will be discussing Tom’s situation in the next few days.
“I’ve got a game to focus on this week but Tom is a talented player, no doubt.
“Adam Reynolds is a good player and there is some interest in him, but we need to tie up Kotoni Staggs first and if and when we do that, we will look at our other scrumbase options.”
Broncos forward Ethan Bullemor urged the club to retain Dearden, who plays his 22nd NRL game on Friday night against the Eels.
“Tom is a really class player and he will keep developing and be a great halfback,” he said.
“All of us would love to have him here, he is a good friend of mine, I came through playing my junior footy with him, so it’s good to be out there with him.
“He is a director who takes the line on. He is a good communicator, as a forward, he is someone you want to put your body on the line for.”
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