Sport Confidential: Brisbane Broncos forward Marty Taupau forced out of club in 2025
A veteran Broncos forward will be forced to find a new club in 2025 as club bosses move to accommodate a monster $5.5 million-plus upgrade for Reece Walsh.
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Salary-cap pressures have forced veteran prop Martin Taupau out of Brisbane as club bosses finalise a monster $5.5 million-plus upgrade for Queensland Origin superstar Reece Walsh.
Sport Confidential can reveal Taupau must find a new home in 2025 after being informed by Broncos bosses he will not be given a new deal for next season.
The 34-year-old Taupau is off-contract at season’s end and was hoping to secure a new deal with the Broncos after settling nicely into life at Red Hill.
The former Kiwi Test enforcer joined the Broncos last year on a cut-price deal from Manly and was a handy addition, playing 20 of Brisbane’s 24 regular-season games, only to miss selection for the grand final against Penrith.
Taupau started the 2024 premiership in Las Vegas in the top 17, but after playing the opening three rounds, he has fallen out of favour and been relegated to feeder club Burleigh in the Queensland Cup.
Nicknamed ‘Kapow’ because of enormous size, the 113kg prop has enjoyed a stellar career, playing 33 Tests for New Zealand and Samoa, as well as 246 NRL games at Canterbury, Wests Tigers, Manly and Brisbane.
But after handing out a series of lucrative upgrades to the likes of Pat Carrigan, Payne Haas, Ezra Mam, Adam Reynolds, Jesse Arthars, Billy Walters, money is running dry under the salary cap at Red Hill.
The Broncos cannot afford to lose rising forwards Xavier Willison, Brendan Piakura and Ben Te Kura and have advised Taupau he is surplus to requirements.
Despite his advancing years, Taupau has kept himself in good shape and has not ruled out playing on in the NRL beyond his 35th birthday if he can find another club.
It is understood the impending release of Taupau will free up around $350,000 in the salary cap, with Brisbane diverting funds to secure fullback sensation Walsh to the biggest deal in the club’s 36-year history.
Walsh can source rival offers from November 1 but the Broncos have no intention of allowing the Maroons maestro to head to free agency.
The 21-year-old is happy at Red Hill and he has outlined his plans to be a Bronco for life, with Brisbane moving to secure Walsh until the end of 2029.
BILLY’S COACHING BOX BOLT
Queensland coach Billy Slater raised eyebrows when he made a shock appearance on the field to talk to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow in the early stages of Origin I.
Slater left his coaching box in the stands at Accor Stadium and made a beeline for the sideline to pass on instructions to the ‘Hammer’, who moved to fullback when Reece Walsh left the field concussed.
After chatting with Tabuai-Fidow, Slater gave the Hammer a pat on the back before racing back up the Accor Stadium stairs while being escorted by security as NSW and Queensland fans looked on.
Some NRL coaches, such as Ricky Stuart and Kevin Walters, have been known to sit on the bench, but it was a surprise to see Slater leave his coaching box and bolt down to the sidelines.
“I walked up to the box from the sideline at the captain’s run (on Tuesday before Origin I) and I thought to myself that if that’s needed, that is what I will do,” Slater said.
“We actually had a talk about that (on game day) as staff.
“When Hammer got thrown back to fullback I thought I could help him with a few things, just having a face-to-face conversation.
“We can’t plan for everything but that’s one thing I thought would be beneficial to the team and beneficial to Hammer.”
NRL football boss Graham Annesley urged Slater and all coaches to be mindful not to cross the line.
“Anyone on the bench is required to remain at the bench,” Annesley said.
“But our Ground Managers do show some discretion based on the circumstances as things can get quite hectic at times.
“That said, we regularly remind players, coaches and officials of their responsibilities to ensure the rules are not abused.”
ORIGIN RATINGS COUP
ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys is set to ramp up plans to take State of Origin to New Zealand in the wake of Wednesday night’s television ratings bonanza.
The NRL are celebrating a brilliant broadcast result, with almost 3.6 million fans watching Queensland’s thumping 38-10 win over NSW the 2024 series opener at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.
Almost 2 million fans tuned into Channel 9’s coverage of the Maroons mauling in metropolitan areas (1.98m), while regional (861,000) and streaming (760,000) audiences took the total viewership to 3.598 million.
The figures were a huge win for the NRL as Origin celebrated its biggest viewership in almost a decade since Game Three of the 2017 series.
It was one million more than the 2.6m who watched last year’s Game Three dead rubber in Sydney and Origin’s highest-rating series opener since 2016.
The 2023 series had a total audience of 9.2 million, including 3.4m in Game One, which was eclipsed by the Maroons running riot in the 2024 opener.
The figures have reaffirmed State of Origin as a TV ratings juggernaut and will further fuel V’landys’ desire to take the code’s showpiece to New Zealand in 2027.
V’landys was rapt with the latest TV ratings and is ready to turn Origin into an international beast by heading to Auckland as a neutral venue.
“We’re in talks with New Zealand officials about an Origin game over there, absolutely,” he said.
“We are definitely keen to take Origin to New Zealand.
“We are shooting the lights out in New Zealand.
“The ‘Wahs’ (Warriors) have put rugby league on another level over there.
“Cameron George (CEO) and his crew have done a wonderful job with the Warriors, we couldn’t be happier with the way the game is going in New Zealand.
“Our audience is up dramatically - we would love to see an Origin game in New Zealand.”
The 2024 opener attracted 77,214 fans to Homebush and Origin is on track to hit the 4 million viewership mark on Channel 9, possibly this season if there’s a decider at Suncorp Stadium in July.
SCHU DOESN’T FIT FOR TITANS
Former Manly enigma Josh Schuster has ruled out a move to the Titans.
Sport Confidential can reveal the former Sea Eagles star will be playing for a Sydney rival next season and has no interest in a move to Queensland to play for the Titans.
The 23-year-old was linked with the Titans after he was spotted last month on the glitter strip with his agent, fuelling speculation he was in talks with Gold Coast coach Des Hasler.
Hasler gave Schuster his NRL debut at Manly in 2020, adding further weight to suggestions that the Titans coach could issue his former protege a Gold Coast lifeline.
But Schuster has had no talks with Hasler or the Titans and is determined to remain in Sydney.
Despite his erratic ways at Manly, the talented Schuster has received lucrative offers to resurrect his NRL this season before June 30, but there will be no rushed return.
Schuster is working hard on his fitness and wants to start afresh in the upcoming pre-season with a new NRL club for the 2025 premiership.
DOLPHINS SECURE STAR
The Dolphins have ramped up their retention drive by securing Jeremy Marshall-King to a new $2.1 million deal.
Marshall-King was a free agent from November 1 but the Dolphins have successfully brokered a three-year extension to keep ‘JMK’ at Redcliffe until the end of 2028.
The Dolphins were hoping to have the Marshall-King upgrade finalised last month, but the parties had been unable to agree terms on the right financial package for the classy hooker.
However, Marshall-King’s preference was to remain at Redcliffe and the Dolphins upped the ante to ensure the Kiwi Test World Cup hooker is going nowhere.
The 28-year-old has become one of the leading hookers in the game and was outstanding for the Dolphins in their foundation year last season.
DCE REJECTS ORIGIN SHAKE-UP
Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans has urged the NRL to reject a proposal for a State of Origin scheduling shake-up.
There has been a push for State of Origin to return to stand-alone weekends amid a shocking injury toll that has seen more than 80 NRL stars sidelined this season entering the representative period.
The NRL’s greatest coach, Wayne Bennett, last year called for the six-week State of Origin period to be condensed to three or four weeks to lessen disruptions on the Telstra Premiership.
In 2020, State of Origin was moved to November and played in three consecutive weeks due to the Covid pandemic, but Cherry-Evans says moving the code’s showpiece could kill international football.
“I understand that argument (moving State of Origin) but then you take away from international footy which has become such a gem for our game,” he said.
“I have to just back what we have right now.
“As a player, people at the NRL will make those decisions and you follow their lead and trust they have all the right information.
“I like it the way it is at the moment.
“It’s nice to break up the club season, our season is so long now, so it’s nice to break it up with State of Origin (mid-season).
“I would hate to take away from international footy.”
NRL’S INJURY CRISIS REALITY CHECK
The NRL’s current injury crisis may not be a full-blown crisis after all.
All sorts of theories have been thrown up to explain why more than 80 NRL stars were sidelined for last week’s round of matches.
That means around 15 per cent of the NRL’s 510 full-time contracted players were unavailable for selection due to an array of injuries that have struck down the code’s biggest names such as Nathan Cleary and Kalyn Ponga.
But is the spate of injuries the worst the NRL has ever seen?
Leading Brisbane-based physiotherapist Brien Seeney, who runs the popular NRL Physio social-media account, keeps a detailed register of every injury sustained by players in the Telstra Premiership.
According to his statistics, the NRL’s injury rate hasn’t spiked, which could be viewed as a concern in itself if so many players are sent to the casualty ward on an annual basis.
But he believes fans are taking more notice of the injury toll because of the slew of big-name victims.
Jake Granville will miss an extended period after tearing his biceps in the Cowboys Round 13 game.
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 4, 2024
The crazy part - he suffered the injury in the 7th minute & played out the full game! Was back falling on a loose ball in-goal 2 tackles after the tear. Talk about tough! pic.twitter.com/cdVVR7x1pj
“The injury numbers are actually quite stable this season compared to previous years,” Seeney said.
“The NRL usually sees between 12-13 in-game injuries per week during the regular season, and 2024 is no different.
“Up to the end of round 13 there have been 12.7 injuries per round.
“I can understand where people are coming from with the injury-crisis chatter, because this year those 12.7 injuries a week have included long-term absences from the likes of Nathan Cleary, Tom Trbojevic, Kalyn Ponga and Cameron Munster.
“Then there’s Ryan Papenhuyzen, Mitch Moses, AJ Brimson, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Cameron Murray, Tom Flegler and Adam Reynolds ... the list goes on and on.
“The injuries have just been happening to bigger names, which makes the overall numbers seem worse than they actually are.”
DRAGONS HALF ON MOVE?
Late-blooming Dragons halfback Jesse Marschke has attracted the attention of the Dolphins.
Marschke is off-contract at season’s end and his stocks soared after his outstanding performance to inspire the Dragons’ 22-10 boilover of premiers Penrith last week.
The 26-year-old Bundaberg product was sensational, setting up two tries and coming up with one line break, two offloads and three tackle busts to put himself in the shop-front window for NRL suitors.
It is understood the Dolphins have expressed interest in the Queenslander as they consider a possible shake-up to their scrumbase.
Veteran 30-year-old playmaker Anthony Milford is off-contract at season’s end and unlikely to be retained, while halfback Sean O’Sullivan’s future at the Dolphins is uncertain.
O’Sullivan has fallen out of favour at Redcliffe and has been linked with the Dragons, possibly as part of a straight swap with Marschke.
The 183cm Marschke has played four games for the Dragons this season but with Queensland Origin star Ben Hunt entrenched as the club’s top No.7, he may be forced to flee the Red V.
MIGHTY MIDDO’S HALF CENTURY
The Broncos put on a special treat to celebrate the 50th birthday of legendary club gear steward Matt Middleton.
Wayne Bennett may be Brisbane’s only premiership coach but even he can’t match the longevity of ‘Middo’, who also chalked up 30 years of service at the Broncos last week.
Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy called all staff, including Brisbane players, for a ‘mid-year review’, which was masked as a celebration for Middleton to honour his outstanding efforts for the club.
A stack of Broncos legends were also on hand including former skipper Darren Lockyer.
“I remember your first day at the club, I was still playing then and ever since you walked into the club, I loved your attitude,” Broncos coach Kevin Walters told a shocked Middleton.
“You’re always smiling, nothing’s too hard for you to do.
“There are many jobs you do, I know, and as a player I respected everything you did around the place but now coming back at different times, we really love the job you do and it’s much appreciated.”
Originally published as Sport Confidential: Brisbane Broncos forward Marty Taupau forced out of club in 2025
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