Sport Confidential: Broncos poach ‘Latrell’ from Dolphins, Bulldogs sign Queensland’s fastest rugby league player
Brisbane has landed a much-needed recruitment blow on the Dolphins, while Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould has snuck under the radar of Queensland club to sign one of the state’s fastest footballers.
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Latrell is heading to the Brisbane Broncos.
Not South Sydney star Latrell Mitchell.
Instead, Redcliffe sensation Latrell Siegwalt has inked a contract with the Broncos for the upcoming pre-season.
The Broncos have snuck under the guard of the Dolphins and handed an opportunity to one of the Hostplus Cup’s hottest talents.
Siegwalt, 23, is a contender for rookie of the year honours following an impressive season as Redcliffe has progressed to Sunday’s grand final against Norths.
The Wagga Wagga product has shifted between five-eighth and fullback and will wear the No. 1 jersey in the decider, replacing the injured Trai Fuller (knee).
After the off-season, Siegwalt will join the Broncos on a train-and-trial contract in the hope of landing a fulltime NRL deal.
Redcliffe coach Ben Te’o said Siegwalt was reaping the rewards after ripping at the Dolphins this year.
“He is from Wagga Wagga and we brought him up from the country,” he said.
“He was a talented junior who went to the Bulldogs and got homesick. Then he went to the Dragons and got homesick.
“He came up here with us around Christmas time he wanted to go home again.
“I told him he had to dig in and see it out. He did that and he has really blossomed.
“He could be a chance for rookie of the year.
“His numbers are off the charts but he’s never really done a pre-season.”
GUS SWOOPS ON QLD SPRINT STAR
Phil Gould’s Bulldogs are building for the future after signing one of Queensland’s fastest rugby league prospects.
Boom 17-year-old Nate Thompson has inked a three-year deal with Canterbury and is a teen of many talents.
The teenage sensation is a 100-metre sprinter who has represented Queensland in track-and-field and his sizzling speed has caught the eye of Bulldogs scouts.
Thompson has also represented the Australian Schoolboys in rugby, but has a passion for rugby league and will get a chance to make his mark at the Bulldogs.
The Sunshine Coast product will start off in Canterbury’s junior representative teams with a view to cracking the Bulldogs’ NRL squad in the coming years.
BRONCOS SACKING STEELS SEIBOLD
Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans says Anthony Seibold’s turbulent stint at the Broncos has underpinned his revival at Brookvale.
There was a view Seibold’s coaching days in the NRL were over after his horror stint at the Broncos, delivering the club’s first and only wooden spoon in 2020.
Seibold arrived on a monster five-year deal in 2019 but lasted just 18 months and walked away with a $1.5 million payout, heading to English rugby to work under Eddie Jones.
The NRL seemed a world away in Europe but Seibold secured a lifeline at Manly and he has responded by steering the Sea Eagles to the finals.
Ahead of Saturday night’s sudden-death semi-final against the Roosters, Cherry-Evans lauded Seibold’s ability to fight back and learn from his Broncos nightmare.
“I’m really proud that we’ve got back to the finals,” Cherry-Evans said.
“No doubt ‘Seibs’ would have learned from his previous coaching experiences. He’s had good and bad when it comes to the experiences at other clubs, but he’s obviously learned from those and come to our club.
“He’s really put his mark on our side and how he wanted us to play. He wanted our style to play to the strengths of the people within the squad, so he’s done his job this year.
“Seibs listens to the senior players and our feedback and he has done a great job to help Manly get back into the finals.”
RENOUF’S PRIVATE FAMILY PAIN
Broncos newly-minted Hall of Fame legend Steve Renouf has opened up about the heartbreak of the health battle that has rocked his teenage niece.
Aamira Renouf is one of Australia’s brightest young women’s rugby league talents but the 16-year-old’s sporting career is under serious threat.
The Caloundra State High product has been diagnosed with Limbic Encephalitis, a rare neurological condition that causes memory impairment, confusion, seizures and depression.
Aamira’s father is Donald Malone, the former tryscoring sensation who had a decorated career in the Queensland Cup and played two NRL games for the Cowboys.
She suffers constant seizures, sometimes during a game, and while she has been given the green light by doctors to return to sport, the condition could affect her life expectancy.
Renouf, who was added to the NRL Hall of Fame last month, paid tribute to Aamira and her family for helping the talented teenager through her ordeal.
“She is going well,” he said. “She’s had a few episodes, but she is on top of it which is great.
“She is very sporty, she’s good not only at rugby league, she’s good at a lot of sports.
“It is upsetting when you hear your young niece has had some issues, but Donald and his wife (Natalie Sandow) are doing a wonderful job.
“I see Don a little bit, we still catch up when he comes to Brisbane.”
DOLPHINS AXE FIRST SIGNING
The Dolphins have told their first ever signing he is free to leave the club.
Emerging hooker Harrison Graham has been given permission to negotiate with rival NRL clubs despite being contracted for 2025.
Graham will forever hold the mantle of being the first player the Dolphins signed for their foundation season.
A handy hooker, the Dolphins picked up Graham from Wynnum-Manly and he played six NRL games for the club in its maiden season last year.
But Graham, 23, didn’t see any NRL action this year and has spent the season in reserve grade.
Incoming coach Kristian Woolf has given him permission to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Meanwhile, former Wynnum-Manly CEO Hanan Laban has replaced Peter O’Sullivan as the Dolphins’ recruitment boss.
O’Sullivan’s move to Newcastle has opened the door for Laban to change roles at the Dolphins.
“It’s been a seamless process since ‘Sully’ moved on between Kurt Richards (junior pathways) and Hanan Laban,” Dolphins CEO Terry Reader said.
“We haven’t missed a beat since Peter moved clubs.
“As we get closer to the beginning of next season we will finalise how that whole structure is set up.
“We are in a really good position with guys who have been there since day one and been involved in those areas just becoming more involved.”
BELLAMY’S SOFT TOUCH
Super coach Craig Bellamy has revealed he is lucky not to have been punched by Melbourne players during his hard-nosed years at the Storm.
Bellamy has become a cult figure in the code with his wild antics in the coaching box caught regularly on TV cameras, but at age 64, he says becoming a grandfather has helped soothe his soul.
Bellamy says the 2024 version of him is now very different to the younger coach who would spray Melbourne players if they didn’t buy into his culture and pursuit of excellence.
“I am a lot more calm,” he told a Storm podcast featuring Ryan Papenhuyzen, Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes.
“I don’t know if that is the right word around training you guys, but I don’t give individual sprays like I used to do.
“A couple of times, it would have been fair enough if someone put one on my chin.
“I have been a bit more mellow and a few people have said it to me. When Billie my granddaughter was born, people said I seemed more relaxed.
“These days, you wouldn’t get away with some of the things I said when I first started.
“But I have probably pulled my head in a little bit. At the same time, it’s a bit of who I am. At some stage, you have to be honest with players.
“I deliver the message in a calmer way, but I will still tell them what I think.”
FORMER TITAN’S BELMORE BONUS
Titans reject Toby Sexton is set to clinch a contract extension after steering the Bulldogs to a fairytale finals series.
Sexton’s career was at the crossroads last year when he joined the Bulldogs mid-season after being released by the Titans, who had once identified the halfback as their next big thing.
The Gold Coast discarded Sexton after just one season of NRL and he has since found a home at the Bulldogs, responding to the coaching of Cameron Ciraldo.
The former Australian Schoolboy is off-contract at the end of next season but hopes to remain at Belmore for 2026 and beyond.
“Toby has really found a home at the Dogs,” said his manager Tas Bartlett of PSM.
“I’ve had a couple of informal chats with ‘Gus’ (football boss Phil Gould) and he wants to keep Toby around.”
Such was Sexton’s talent, he partnered Roosters sensation Sam Walker in the Australian Schoolboys halves in 2019.
“Toby was disappointed with how things ended with the Titans,” he said.
“They paid him a fair bit of money for his age and he had enormous expectations, but I feel they rushed the process and he didn’t have the senior people around to help him as a rookie playmaker.
“It’s a shame it didn’t work out there, because I think with time and patience he would have made it. But Toby is loving the Bulldogs and being coached by Cameron Ciraldo.
“It’s been a good fit.”
PHINS UP OVER BRONCOS
The Dolphins are quietly celebrating another win over the Broncos.
After smashing the Broncos 40-6 in the recent Battle of Brisbane and finishing higher on the NRL ladder, the Dolphins reckon they’ve got another one over their fierce rivals.
Both teams contesting this year’s Hostplus Cup grand final on Sunday at Redcliffe’s Kayo Stadium are aligned to the Dolphins.
The Dolphins obviously have an arrangement with Redcliffe and last year poached Norths Devils from the Broncos.
The joke going around the Dolphins is the Hostplus Cup has been renamed the Terry Reader Cup.
Reader is a former CEO of Norths Devils who is now CEO of the Dolphins.
Meanwhile, Brisbane’s feeder clubs had poor seasons.
Wynnum-Manly and Burleigh bombed out in the first week of the finals while Souths-Logan finished 10th.
The Broncos poached Burleigh from the Titans but it ended up being the Bears’ worst season in years.
FREE FINALS TICKETS
Queensland footy fans wanting to get to the Sharks-Cowboys final on Friday night can score free tickets thanks to Youi.
The insurance company and NRL are giving away 500 tickets to the knockout final at Allianz Stadium.
All you have to do to score two tickets is send an email to youiqueenslander@nrl.com.au and prove you are the biggest footy fans in Queensland.
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