$35m silly season puts heat on Broncos
November 1 will signal a scramble as more than $35 million worth of talent hits the open market.
Rugby league’s silly season is about to begin. On November 1, more than $35m worth of talent will enter the final year of their contracts and be able to field formal offers from rival clubs — and no side is more vulnerable than Brisbane.
At the Broncos, those up for grabs include Kotoni Staggs, Thomas Dearden, Jack Bird, Xavier Coates, Jake Turpin and Anthony Milford. New coach Kevin Walters needs to act fast or he risks being decimated by his rivals.
The Broncos have a massive fight on their hands to keep Staggs, whose intention to head to the open market was revealed in Weekend Read some weeks ago. Dearden, Coates and Turpin are crucial pieces of the future.
After that, it gets interesting. The state of flux over Bird’s future sums up their season. Bird was in talks with St George Illawarra and had his heart set on a return to the Dragons. He spoke to coach Anthony Griffin and there was mutual interest.
The clubs held talks but failed to find a middle ground and as it stands, Bird will stay in Brisbane to serve out the final year of his $975,000 deal. Don’t be surprised, however, if things change. Bird is keen to move. The Broncos are happy for him to go. The Dragons would like to add him to their roster.
The pressure will mount on the Broncos once Bird enters the final year of his deal on November 1 and Brisbane have to begin paying him more than $80,000 a month.
Bird has plenty to prove and on that front, Milford is the same. The former Queensland five-eighth has been a bitter disappointment over the past year or two and is entering the final 12 months of his deal. It would be no surprise if the Broncos took their time and waited to see how he responded to being coached by Walters again. Milford played his best footy when Walters was an assistant to Wayne Bennett at the Broncos but no matter what happens, he is in for a steep wage cut from the $1m a season he stands to earn in 2021.
Weekend Read spoke to one prominent official at a rival club who suggested he was facing a cut of at least 50 per cent given the way he has played in recent times.
“Right now, he is worth about $500,000,” they said.
They also suggested teams would be interested.
“One, he will have a good year this year,” they said. “Two, he’s a talented player if he gets back to his best. Teams will take a punt that they can get him back to his best.”
Lurking with intent is South Sydney, who are in the process of parting ways with James Roberts. Weekend Read revealed several weeks ago that Roberts may be squeezed out and his departure — on top of the retirement of Ethan Lowe and their decision to withdraw from the race for Joseph Suaalii – will leave the Rabbitohs armed with a war chest.
Some of that money will be used to keep Latrell Mitchell, who is close to inking a two-year extension. The Rabbitohs also need to ward off suitors for Jaydn Su’A but they are also expected to go to market.
Top 10 players on market from November 1:
- James Tedesco
- Latrell Mitchell
- Kotoni Staggs
- Dale Finucane
- Mitchell Moses
- Jaydn Su’A
- Jarome Luai
- Cameron McInnes
- Angus Crichton
- Dylan Walker
Abdo wants Smith
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has foreshadowed a role for Cameron Smith within the game when the Melbourne Storm captain calls time on his career.
Smith is expected to announce his retirement some time after Sunday night’s grand final against Penrith at ANZ Stadium. He will walk into a job with the Storm when he calls it a day and there is every chance he could have a media career should he so choose.
The NRL may also beckon for one of the greatest players in the game’s history.
“I think it would be great to have him help us given the way he thinks about the game,” Abdo said. “He’s such a great tactician. Why wouldn’t you want his views and perceptions of things. I don’t know if he will go into media.
“If he doesn’t, it would be great to get him involved. We have quite a few things where we use former players such as the match review committee and the innovation committee. Why wouldn’t you want someone who has played more games than anyone else doing that?”
Yeo, the quite achiever
Isaah Yeo is one of the quieter and more unassuming members of the Penrith side but he shouldn’t be. With a big game on Sunday, there is every chance he could be a member of Brad Fittler’s State of Origin squad for the upcoming series.
Yeo was born in Dubbo but found his way to Penrith thanks to Adam Przbyla, who used to work alongside renowned Panthers recruitment guru Jim Jones.
Nearly a decade ago, Przbyla headed to the NSW country town of Gulgong to watch some footy when he noticed a big, lanky kid running around.
Przbyla’s interest was further peaked when he saw the name. He had played with a Justin Yeo in the lower grades at North Sydney but his initial thought was that this kid must have been his younger brother. It turned out it was his son.
Despite the friendship, Justin still needed convincing that it was the right move for his son.
“I said to him (Isaah) there is an opportunity to come down (to Penrith), do some training and play the weekend,” Przbyla said.
“He (Justin) said he’s not up to that, he’s not good enough. I said he could stay at my house. I took him to training.”
Yeo took the chance and ran with it. He has been outstanding this season for the Panthers and seven years after making his debut, having played nearly 150 games, he stands on the cusp of higher honours.
“The old man was worried he wasn’t good enough at the time but he is glad I persisted,” Przbyla said. “He wasn’t an exceptionally talented schoolboy but he was always a quality human being.”
Xerri to kick off month of madness
Suspended Cronulla centre Bronson Xerri will kick off what promises to be a month of hell for the NRL when he fronts an anti-doping tribunal next week.
Xerri has been provisionally suspended since May 26 after returning a positive test to testosterone. He will be given the opportunity to argue for a reduction in his four-year ban next week but he faces an uphill battle to convince the panel that he should be given some latitude given naivety and stupidity is not a defence.
Even if he is successful, the World Anti-Doping Agency has the right to appeal the decision and they may look to make a stand given the nature of the substances that were found in Xerri’s A and B samples.
Xerri has said nothing since he was suspended and his lawyer Ramy Qutami has declined to comment, highlighting the sensitivity of the matter.
His hearing is merely the tip of the iceberg for the NRL. On Monday, suspended St George Illawarra forward Jack de Belin’s case will be mentioned in Wollongong District Court before he goes to trial to answer aggravated sexual assault charges on November 2. De Belin’s case will have huge ramifications for the NRL and the Dragons. The NSW forward hasn’t played for nearly two years after being stood down under the game’s no-fault stand-down policy.
The players union has taken the NRL to arbitration over the rule and they will be given further ammunition if de Belin is acquitted given the stand down will have cost him two years of his career.
At the end of November, former Parramatta star Jarryd Hay ne is finally due to front court on aggravated sexual assault. Hayne hasn’t been a rugby league player for a long time but that won’t stop constant references to the NRL.
It will all unfold with State of Origin in full swing.
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