NRL transfers: Brisbane Broncos table $1m deal to hold on to Pat Carrigan

As the Dolphins circle some of their biggest names, the Broncos have upped the ante in the Brisbane NRL player poaching wars. So is $1m enough to keep this star?

Broncos Jamayne Isaako, Pat Carrigan and Selwyn Cobbo are on the radar of the Dolphins.

The Broncos are set to stave off a poaching attempt from new expansion rivals the Dolphins to secure promising lock Pat Carrigan to a $1 million contract extension.

News Corp understands the Broncos are closing in on the signature of Carrigan, who is tipped to ink a two-year upgrade, worth around $500,000 annually, to keep him at Red Hill until the end of 2024.

Currently a free agent for 2023, Carrigan met with Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett last Wednesday and had a tour of their facilities at Redcliffe as he weighed up his future beyond next season.

The 23-year-old rejected Brisbane’s initial extension deal a fortnight ago, but the Broncos have slightly increased their offer and it is believed the revised package is palatable to the Queensland Origin hopeful.

Carrigan will make a decision this week and the Broncos believe they have got their man.

While Bennett is a fan of Carrigan, the Dolphins are reluctant to engage in a desperate bidding war, suggesting the Broncos will win the battle for a hardworking forward rated a future club captain.

The impending retention of Carrigan is a boost for the Broncos, who are under attack from the Dolphins, with the 17th team having also expressed interest in Brisbane duo Selwyn Cobbo and Jamayne Isaako.

Broncos football boss Ben Ikin is highly impressed with Carrigan’s off-field maturity, believing he can develop into the leader of men that made NSW Origin lock Dale Finucane a premiership winner at the Storm.

Patrick Carrigan has fielded a two-year upgrade from the Broncos in an effort to keep him at the club. Picture: Alix Sweeney

“We are very hopeful that Pat stays,” Ikin said. “We believe he will. Pat has an enormous work ethic both in games and with respect to his rehabilitation (from a knee reconstruction in May).

“He drives the other guys hard at training and we know he is off-contract at the end of next year.

“At the moment, we are in the process of trying to extend Pat and like we do with all the players we want to keep, we are pitching hard.

“We are confident Pat sees his future at the Broncos.”

Despite rupturing his ACL just six months ago, Carrigan has been one of Brisbane’s best performers in fitness drills since the Broncos’ return to pre-season a fortnight ago.

Former Broncos playmaker Ikin, who himself underwent a knee reconstruction during his 150-game NRL career, lauded Carrigan’s professionalism in rehabilitation.

“It’s a long process coming back from an ACL,” Ikin said.

“Kotoni came through the same process and it requires a lot of dedication and rehab.

“I can’t wrap Pat enough for the way he has handled his rehabilitation. He is here every other day working on his knee.

“Every discussion I have had with Pat has been total commitment to getting his knee right and while it was tough early, he has more than met the challenge.”

Broncos forward recruit Ryan James, who has fought back from three knee reconstructions, has taken Carrigan under his wing.

“Patty is coming back from his ACL and he has asked me for some tips,” James said.

“Anyone who I can help off the field, I’m willing to put my hand up. I feel as though I’ve had enough experience on and off the field to be able to help Pat.”

DOLPHINS TARGET TRIO OF BRONCOS RECRUITS

The Dolphins have held talks with Broncos trio Selwyn Cobbo, Jamayne Isaako and Pat Carrigan as the NRL’s latest expansion rivalry ignites in the battle for Queensland talent.

News Corp can reveal Carrigan met with Dolphins super coach Wayne Bennett on Wednesday and toured the new club’s facilities at Redcliffe as the Broncos lock, off-contract next year, weighs up his future for 2023.

Carrigan will make a final call next week.

It is understood the Broncos will stave off their expansion rivals to secure Carrigan to a two-year upgrade worth $1 million, but that hasn’t stopped the Dolphins also making a play for Isaako and boom teenager Cobbo, rated Brisbane’s version of Latrell Mitchell.

Dolphins recruitment boss Peter O’Sullivan has spoken with the management of Isaako and Cobbo over the past week, while Bennett personally met with Carrigan in the past 24 hours to spruik his vision for the NRL’s 17th team.

Bennett believes Cobbo can be an NRL superstar.

The super coach mentored Mitchell at South Sydney over the past two years and Bennett sees striking similarities in Cobbo, who impressed in his NRL debut this year with his raw-boned physicality at 100kg.

Cobbo’s management confirmed talks with the Dolphins, but the advantage for the Broncos is the 19-year-old remains contracted until the end of 2023, giving Brisbane crucial time to secure the young gun to a long-term deal.

“The Dolphins have indicated they would be keen to talk to Selwyn when the time is right,” said Cobbo’s manager Tas Bartlett of PSM.

“Selwyn is contracted to the Broncos until 2023, so Brisbane have a year’s headstart and we will be giving the Broncos every opportunity to extend Selwyn on his current deal.

“His preference is to stay at the Broncos, he was a Broncos fan as a kid so he is living out his dream.

“We’ll unpack things during the pre-season, go through things with the Broncos and see if a new deal can be reached.

Selwyn Cobbo is a superstar of the future. Picture: NRL Photos

“If a deal can’t be reached, then the Dolphins are an option.

“Selwyn played in their backyard on the Sunshine Coast as a junior, so the Dolphins would have major appeal.”

If anyone is best placed to appraise Cobbo, it is Dolphins foundation recruitment chief O’Sullivan, the very scout who spotted Mitchell and Queensland Origin legend Greg Inglis as teenagers.

O’Sullivan first laid eyes on Cobbo in February, when the Indigenous flyer scored a superb solo try for Brisbane’s feeder-club Wynnum in a 22-all pre-season trial draw with the Broncos.

“Selwyn is a class player,” he said.

“When he is off-contract, every club in the NRL would be keen to have him in their backline.

“I remember watching him earlier this year playing a trial in the same game as Reece Walsh (former Broncos whiz-kid who joined the Warriors this year).

Jamayne Isaako is tipped to join the Dolphins for 2023. Picture: Alix Sweeney

“Selwyn played half a game for Wynnum and half a game for the Broncos and he was every bit as impressive as Reece that night.

“It’s hard to make comparisons because every guy is their own player but you are kidding yourself if you don’t see similarities between Selwyn Cobbo and guys like Latrell and Greg in the way he moves.”

Isaako, who was handed his Broncos debut by Bennett in 2017, is tipped to defect to the Dolphins for 2023.

The 25-year-old is off-contract next year and endured a turbulent 2021 campaign that saw him axed as fullback as Broncos coach Kevin Walters backed Tesi Niu in the No. 1 jumper.

Carrigan rejected Brisbane’s extension offer a fortnight ago, but the Broncos have since tabled a revised package of around $500,000 a season that is expected to seal the retention of the 23-year-old, who is rated a future Broncos captain.