NRL 2022: Corey Oates on the outer in battle for wing spot at Broncos
A Broncos fan favourite is fighting to save his career at the club after being relegated to Brisbane’s second-string team just three weeks out from the kick-off to the NRL season.
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Corey Oates is fighting to save his career at the Broncos with the former Queensland Origin star relegated to Brisbane’s second-string Renegades in the fierce battle for NRL premiership spots.
The Courier-Mail can reveal Broncos fan favourite Oates is on the selection outer at Red Hill — just three weeks out from Brisbane’s season-opener against the Rabbitohs on March 11 at Suncorp Stadium.
The 27-year-old has been one of Brisbane’s premier backline strike weapons, having scored 98 tries from 170 games since his NRL debut in 2013, including many spectacular four-pointers diving for the corner on the left wing.
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But Oates, off-contract at season’s end, has fallen down Brisbane’s wing pecking order during the most critical phase of his career.
The veteran of eight Origin matches ran with Brisbane’s reserve-grade squad at training on Friday. Dragons off-season recruit Jordan Pereira was a surprise choice on the right wing with Brisbane’s top squad, while young gun Selwyn Cobbo occupied the left flank Oates has largely made his own over the past eight years.
The sight of a Cobbo-Pereira wing alliance left Oates on the outside looking in and facing stiff competition in a position that also features Broncos veteran David Mead, Dolphins-bound Jamayne Isaako and ex-Storm utility back Brenko Lee.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters has not totally closed the door on Oates, who has had stints with the top squad in pre-season, but he must produce red-hot form in the trials to start against the Rabbitohs at Suncorp.
Brisbane football boss Ben Ikin lauded Oates’ attitude as the veteran winger fights to win a new deal at the Broncos.
“‘Oatesy’ knows there is competition for spots and he is relishing it,” Ikin said. “Like a few other players on our list who are off-contract, we remain in negotiations with them.
“We are watching and looking. We remain in negotiations with him. Guys like Oatesy are keen to knuckle down and get the best out of themselves.
“Corey has had a good pre-season. He is a fascinating guy, he is high energy, he talks a lot, he is an entertaining person, but there are some things in his game he decided he wanted to get better at and he concluded on his own he would work hard on those things.
“I’m not the coach, but from all reports Corey is giving things a fair shake.”
After seemingly falling out-of-favour with coach Walters last year, Oates fought his way back into Brisbane‘s NRL team and managed 14 top-grade appearances.
A fortnight ago, Oates revealed he questioned his future over the past two years and came close to retirement at his lowest ebb.
“If you asked me a while ago I would have been pretty hesitant (to keep playing) because I wasn’t feeling great, but that’s because I was doing bugger all for myself,” he said.
“Now I feel good and doing the little things is a big difference.
“Looking after your body is a big thing for me. I’ve learnt a lot the last 12-16 months doing it. I feel good and think I can last a lot longer now.
“This year means a lot. This is my future this year.
“I’m off-contract and my performances will be everything.”
Expansion newcomers the Dolphins are certain to monitor Oates, especially given the winger’s relationship with former Broncos coach Wayne Bennett, but Ikin is unfazed by a possible poaching bid from their Brisbane rivals.
“We know the Dolphins could be an option for Oatesy and our players, but there are 15 other clubs to think about,” he said. “Players are happy to move anywhere these days so the Dolphins aren’t the only club that are a threat to our off-contract players.
“I don’t worry about who the targets are. Everything that happens here is based on our plans.”
CAN BRONCOS HOLD ON TO ‘NEXT’ LATRELL?
A multimillion-dollar poaching war has erupted over Selwyn Cobbo with the Broncos vowing to stave off a raid from Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins for Brisbane’s version of Latrell Mitchell.
The Courier-Mail can reveal the Broncos will up the ante by heading to the negotiating table with Cobbo’s management in the coming weeks to thrash out a $1 million-plus contract extension for the boom teenager.
The 100kg flyer can flex his muscle as one of the code’s hottest backline properties when he makes his senior representative debut for the Indigenous All Stars in next Friday’s clash against their Maori rivals in Sydney.
Cobbo was so brilliant in his rookie season last year the Cherbourg sensation has piqued the interest of five clubs, including the Redcliffe-based Dolphins who will become the NRL’s 17th franchise in 2023.
Bennett has a huge opinion of Cobbo, prompting Dolphins recruitment chief Peter O’Sullivan to formally express interest in the Queensland Origin hopeful before Christmas.
Cobbo, 19, is contracted to Brisbane until the end of 2023, meaning the Dolphins cannot table an offer until November 1 this year – and the Broncos are ready to move quickly to keep the young gun at Red Hill for the long haul.
The Dolphins have already snared Brisbane winger Jamayne Isaako and are eyeing English centre Herbie Farnworth, but Broncos football chief Ben Ikin said the club wanted to lock up Cobbo long-term.
“Selwyn is contracted to the Broncos for another two years,” he said.
“He has been in our system for a long time and we think really highly of him.
“We’d love for him to stay long-term so when the time is right we will enter negotiations in an attempt to keep him at the club.”
That time is fast approaching, with Cobbo’s manager Tas Bartlett holding multiple meetings with the Dolphins in recent months as Bennett looks to set up a long-term vision for the NRL’s newest club.
Bartlett, of Pacific Sports Management, said he was ready to open contract talks with the Broncos ahead of the 2022 NRL premiership kicking off next month.
“Wayne Bennett is a fan of Selwyn, but he isn’t available for two years so hopefully the Broncos can upgrade him and extend him sooner rather than later,” he said.
“I had a meeting with the Dolphins in November to gauge their interest. They were very keen to know Selwyn’s plans and I said he was very happy at the Broncos and hopefully they want to retain him and we’ll see how it plays out.
“The Dolphins are a genuine option, Selwyn played in that region as a junior.
“I’ve left negotiations until the end of pre-season and that time is fast approaching. I’ll look to catch up with the Broncos next month and see what their position is with Selwyn and financially what that looks like.
“It’s a huge year for Selwyn. This is his first proper pre-season and in terms of football IQ, he is still quite young. He has enormous potential and while he is far from the finished product, he has the tools to go all the way in the game.
“He’s the closest thing I’ve seen to Latrell Mitchell with his body shape and physical components, so he can be a scary sight in the next 12 to 36 months.”
Cobbo played seven NRL games for the Broncos last year in his rookie season, splitting his time between wing and centre.
He looms as a long-term fullback option for the Broncos and coach Kevin Walters said Cobbo would be in his starting 13 when Brisbane kicks off its 2022 campaign against South Sydney on March 11.
“He will be somewhere in the outside backs,” Walters said.
“We’ve moved him around a bit through our training at fullback, centre and wing. He will be there somewhere.
“He is an exciting young player and good things happen when the ball is around him. That’s what I’ve noticed.
“We saw his performance (for Wynnum-Manly) in the grand final of the Intrust Super Cup last year. He was the best player on the field.
“That’s always a good sign.”
Broncos captain Adam Reynolds spent the past two seasons playing alongside Mitchell at the Rabbitohs and said Cobbo was a natural talent.
“Selwyn is an athlete. He makes hard things look easy and at times it doesn’t look like he is trying,” he said.
“He just makes the game flow and there’s only a handful of players who can do that. I’ve met him at training and in the chats we’ve had he is keen and willing to learn which is great.”
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