There were two losers out of the Broncos comeback victory at Suncorp Stadium – the Sharks and Selwyn Cobbo

Every win the Broncos make without Selwyn Cobbo pushes him ever closer to the exit door of the only club he has ever wanted to play for. ROBERT CRADDOCK reveals the 26 minutes that could end Cobbo’s Broncos career.

There were two losers out of the Broncos comeback victory at Suncorp Stadium – the Sharks and Selwyn Cobbo.

Every win the Broncos make without Cobbo – admittedly this is only two in a row - pushes him ever closer to the exit door of the only club he has ever wanted to play for. He looks gone.

Cobbo’s replacement, the out of contract Josiah Karapani, looked good again, scoring two tries to make it four from two games. And his salary has been reported as $130,000, a fifth of Cobbo’s.

The Broncos have reportedly offered Cobbo a small deal in the $300,000 range (down from $650,000).

Club boss Dave Donaghy said on Triple M before the match the club and Cobbo were still a “fair way apart’’ but he remained “hopeful’’ of a deal.

Wins like this one won’t narrow that gap a centimetre. Some clubs will play double the figure Cobbo has been offered to stay.

NRL 2025 RD09 Penrith Panthers v Brisbane Broncos - Selwyn Cobbo, Dejection /

Donaghy said he met with Cobbo’s manager last week but if he does stay it will be one of the most notable salary sacrifices of recent times.

Had the Broncos lost – as looked likely when they were 16 down with 26 minutes to play after a dreadful first half the enigmatic winger may have lingered in the selection equation.

But he will find it extremely hard to break into a side which suddenly has winning form and the sniff of a revival in their nostrils despite the fact that the team is still playing very patchy football.

Where you see the Broncos future depends on whether you see a glass half empty or full.

Josiah Karapani has had strong back-to-back performances. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

The good news is that they are fifth on the table despite wobbling like a palm tree in a hurricane for the past two months.

At one point they lost six from seven. Sure they won’t play that badly again. Ben Hunt is back soon. Their injuries are minimal.

The glass half empty is that history tells you have to finish in the top four to take the title and the top four – the Bulldogs, Raiders, Warriors and Storm - have skated away from the pack.

But you never know. This win could be the turning point of their season.

HAPPY JACK

Olympic swimmer Shayna Jack made her first appearance in a Broncos dressing room on Sunday, her presence a timely reminder of the theme the team must embrace this winter.

Jack is renowned for her teak-tough resilience and refusal to give in even when everything was running against her.

“I think you just have to stop thinking about the outcome and keep trying and trying and trying and that is what they did today,’’ she said as she entered the change room after the Broncos recovered from a 16-point deficit with 26 minutes to play.

Captain Adam Reynolds said this of the Broncos Jeckyl and Hyde winter. “When we stick to the plan we are a good footy story. When we don’t we are pretty ordinary.’’

Shayna Jack said she admired Brisbane’s resilience at Suncorp Stadium. Picture: Adam Head

PHINS UP

Dolphins officials must have felt like crashing head first into their cornflakes when they read that the Rugby League Players Association is pushing for salary cap concessions for the new teams in Perth and Papua New Guinea.

It makes perfect sense for the Perth Bears and the PNG team to get salary cap concessions. Perth should be allowed to sign players now and not have to wait until November 1.

But the NRL gave the Dolphins no free kicks whatsoever when they joined the competition. Only through some deft signings and shrewd management did they establish a competitive foothold.

If the Perth Bears do not get help they could face a brutal fate.

Originally published as There were two losers out of the Broncos comeback victory at Suncorp Stadium – the Sharks and Selwyn Cobbo