Kevin Walters confident Broncos will retain Deine Mariner despite Dolphins interest
Wayne Bennett and the Dolphins have no chance of nabbing a talented young Bronco - or so says Kevin Walters as the two clubs go to war.
NRL
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Broncos coach Kevin Walters has warned Dolphins counterpart Wayne Bennett to back off as expansion tensions ignite in the contract spat over Brisbane young gun Deine Mariner.
Breaking his silence on the saga, Walters insists Mariner is going nowhere as the NRL integrity unit continues its probe into explosive allegations the Dolphins tried to convince the 19-year-old to renege on his Broncos deal.
Mariner ran strongly in the centres at Broncos training on Thursday, a fortnight after being interviewed by NRL investigators over claims the Dolphins tried to lure him from Red Hill to Redcliffe with a $1.2 million contract sweetener.
Rated one of the club’s finest centre prospects alongside Justin Hodges and Steve Renouf, Mariner is contracted until the end of 2024 and Walters declared he has no intention of losing the Kiwi Test hopeful to a Dolphins raid.
“Deine is definitely staying here, 100 per cent,” Walters said.
“This is a big year for Deine, he is still only young, but we expect him to play some more first grade this year and that will be the plan for him.
“It’s about learning and getting better and I feel he has a long future at the Broncos.”
The Broncos recently lodged a formal complaint to the NRL after Mariner stunned the club by asking for an immediate release in September following an inquiry from the Dolphins.
It is Brisbane’s view that the Dolphins tried to coerce Mariner to break his Broncos deal, even offering him a more lucrative deal, prompting NRL integrity-unit chiefs to quiz the classy centre.
Mariner’s manager has also been interviewed by, and co-operated with, the NRL, insisting the Dolphins did not breach contracting laws by expressing interest in the Australian Schoolboys sensation.
The wraps on Mariner are huge. Queensland scouts rated the Palm Beach Currumbin product the best schoolboy centre in the country last year, piquing the interest of the Dolphins, who believe Mariner is trapped in a three-quarter log-jam behind Kotoni Staggs, Herbie Farnworth and Selwyn Cobbo at Red Hill.
Walters blooded Mariner in the NRL this year - the teenager finished the 2022 campaign with two appearances - and the Broncos coach is confident Brisbane’s system will extract the best of the Kiwi Test hopeful.
“I’m not sure what happened (with the Dolphins’ poaching attempt), but the good thing is he was locked in here,” Walters said.
“He has some good staff around him to get him better, we’ve got Darius (Boyd, former Broncos skipper) working with him and he is learning from guys like Kotoni Staggs and Herbie Farnworth.
“Deine will make some big improvements here.”
Mariner’s backline cohort Jordan Pereira is another Bronco chasing progress in 2023.
The nuggety winger played five games for the Broncos this year following his move from the Dragons and has vowed to keep Cobbo, Mariner, Farnworth and Corey Oates honest in the battle for NRL berths in pre-season.
“We have two Queensland Origin wingers (Cobbo and Oates) and I can’t play any other positions, so I will take the opportunity of this pre-season,” he said.
“I’m going up against two of the best wingers in the competition every day at training, so I am learning from them and seeing what they do that got them there.
“It’s great for me. I’m in a great environment, I’m a big fan of this club and when I do get my opportunity, the coaches show confidence in me and with that you believe in yourself.
“The coaches like the energy I bring and I am trying to bring that again this year.”
BRONCO’S ADMISSION AMID $4M OFFER
Tom Flegler is poised to reject a massive $4 million offer from Manly with the Origin enforcer outlining his plans to stay at the Broncos in a major coup for Brisbane coach Kevin Walters.
Walters is adamant he is implementing the building blocks for a fresh premiership dynasty at Red Hill and Flegler is putting faith in Brisbane’s ‘Kev-olution’ by declaring he has no plans to walk out on the Broncos.
As revealed by News Corp, Flegler is one of the most-sought after forwards in the code.
Off-contract next season, the Queensland bookend is officially a free agent and has attracted interest from five NRL rivals, including Manly, the Warriors and Brisbane’s derby foes the Titans.
The Sea Eagles are rated the greatest poaching threat, with Manly having discussed a mega six-year offer worth $675,000 a season to lure the front-row firebrand to Brookvale until the end of 2027.
New Manly coach Anthony Seibold has links to Flegler, having coached him in 2019-20 during his turbulent two-season tenure at the Broncos.
But in the wake of front-row colleague Payne Haas pledging his allegiance to the Broncos, Flegler wants to follow suit and while he has yet to officially ink an extension, the 23-year-old is adamant he will stay loyal.
“I have been at the Broncos since I was a kid and I don‘t plan on leaving,” Flegler said.
“For myself, I need to play good footy, more importantly for the team rather than myself.
“You would be lying if you said you didn’t think about it, but I have been at the Broncos since I was 15 and this is home for me.”
Mindful of poaching raids, the Broncos have kicked-off preliminary extension talks with Flegler, who says he is in no rush to ramp-up talks as he focuses on a critical summer after two seasons of personal turbulence.
“I haven’t thought about it (making a final decision) at the moment,” Flegler said.
“First things first is to have a good pre-season and train hard and then I guess we will get into those contract talks next year.
“I came through the (Broncos) under-20s with the majority of the NRL squad so I don’t see myself moving any time soon.”
For all the external interest in Flegler, the hulking prop feels a sense of gratitude to the Broncos for showing faith in him amid his on-field woes.
Flegler goes into the new season with a reputation as one of the NRL’s most ill-disciplined players after a series of suspensions in recent years, including the prop being reported four times in one horror afternoon against the Warriors in April.
The Broncos are banking on a Haas-Flegler engine-room alliance to lead their finals revenge mission next year.
Now a veteran of 74 first-grade games, the no-nonsense Flegler insists he will retain his rugged style, but accepts he can ill-afford more suspensions for high shots and hip drops.
“Nothing is intentional but I am an aggressive player and I’m not going to stop that,” said Flegler, who played his one and only Origin game in 2021.
“Some tackles will slip up or the ones that aren’t intentional are the hip drops, but that’s just the game we play in today.
“Things will happen accidentally, but I’m an aggressive guy and that’s the way I will continue to play.
“I do work on my discipline, it does let me down at times but I plan on staying on the field for the majority of the season.”
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