Storm in eleventh-hour play to prise Anthony Milford away from Broncos
THE Broncos remain confident of retaining Anthony Milford as six NRL rivals, including Melbourne Storm, circle the Queensland Origin hopeful.
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THE Broncos remain confident of retaining Anthony Milford as six NRL rivals, including Melbourne, circle the Queensland Origin hopeful.
The Courier-Mail can reveal the battle for Milford’s signature goes beyond the Storm, with five other NRL suitors lodging expressions of interest in the Broncos ace.
Milford’s agent Sam Ayoub confirmed an approach from Melbourne, who are scouring the market for a big-name playmaker to replace Maroons halfback Cooper Cronk next season.
Broncos hierarchy were planning to announce Milford’s retention a fortnight ago after tabling a three-year deal worth $2.7 million — the richest in Brisbane’s history.
Milford has told Broncos powerbrokers he is keen to ink the extension as soon as possible, but the deal has been held up by uncertainty over the NRL’s salary cap from next season.
That has opened the door for the Storm, whose interest has yet to be converted into a formal offer.
The Milford poaching bid adds another spicy dimension to the relationship between Melbourne’s Craig Bellamy and Broncos super coach Wayne Bennett.
Bellamy was an assistant to Bennett at the Broncos in his rookie years but the pair butted heads almost a decade ago over Melbourne’s infamous grapple-tackle saga.
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Milford would be the perfect replacement for Cronk, who will quit the Storm at season’s end, but Ayoub says his client’s preference is to remain at Red Hill.
“Everyone is trying to build it into something more than it is,” he said.
“I am trying not to manipulate this situation. Just because an inquiry has been made it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.
“Melbourne rang me about four or five days ago but they have made no offer at this stage. It would be silly to think there wouldn’t be interest in Anthony, but we’re continuing talks with the Broncos.
“His preference is to stay at the Broncos and it’s like Johnathan Thurston, he’s entrenched in North Queensland but it doesn’t mean clubs wouldn’t show interest in him when he’s available.
“I won’t be playing this through the media. An inquiry has been made and that’s the extent of it at the moment.”
Bennett told The Courier-Mail last month that Milford was struggling mentally with being off-contract at a volatile time in the player market. He conceded other clubs might try to tempt Milford with a more lucrative offer.
“There’s the issue whether you stay at the club or not and sometimes other clubs are chasing you with probably a lot more money than the club you’re at,” he said.
“Look at sport all around the world and no one has a chaotic system like we do. There are plenty of models we can take off and say ‘this is what we will do’ because it is what we need.”
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