Dolphins set to withdraw from Selwyn Cobbo race as Broncos teammates back the out-of-favour star

Selwyn Cobbo’s Broncos future is hanging by a withering thread, with the out-of-favour star now set for an inevitable Sydney move after a Queensland suitor pulled out of the race to sign the winger.

The chastening prospect of moving to Sydney is looming large for Selwyn Cobbo with the Dolphins poised to ignore the chance to snare the out-of-favour Broncos winger.

Cobbo has been offered a deal around $300,000 to stay at the Broncos, a savage reduction from his current deal of $650,000 and one which seems likely to see him leave the club.

The Cowboys have expressed some interest in signing Cobbo but the greater interest has come from the Dragons.

The Dolphins have been linked with Cobbo but are poised to keep their powder dry for three reasons.

The first is that they could not justify paying $600,000 for an out of form winger.

Then there’s the issue of whether a player dropped because he is having trouble towing the line is a fit for a happy team with high standards who are renowned for chipping in for each other.

Then there is the fact that they are well serviced out wide with Jack Bostock, though now sidelined with a serious injury, and the re-born Jamayne Isaako.

Cobbo has been omitted from the Broncos past two games, which they have won.

Teammate Kotoni Staggs is adamant Cobbo is in the Broncos best 17 but could understand it if he leaves the club.

“Selly is one of my good mates,’’ Staggs said of Cobbo after the Broncos defeat of the Sharks at Suncorp Stadium.

“I have played with him for a long time and he has been on my wing. We have built a really good connection. I’d love to see him stay but he has got to do what is best for himself and his family. He is a player that can turn the game around.

Kotoni Staggs has come to the defence of Selwyn Cobbo. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“I think Selly is in our top 17 for sure. He can turn nothing into something. Whatever team we decide to go with against the Warriors is up to Madge but I do think he is in our best 17.’’

Staggs said criticism of the Broncos, who recently won just one of seven games, had fired up the side who produced a rousing second half comeback after a poor first half.

“I put it back down to a lot of outside noise that said we couldn’t do it and wouldn’t make the top eight and weren’t a finals team. We just flipped it all back onto them. We are fighting for one another. It was a good comeback and we had to get some points back. The more they hate on us it feeds us.’’

Broncos chief executive Dave Donaghy conceded there was a fair difference between what Cobbo was hoping to earn in his next contract and what the Broncos were prepared to offer.

Selwyn Cobbo’s Broncos days could be numbered. Picture: NRL Photos

“Those discussions are ongoing,’’ Donaghy told Triple M.

“I met with Selwyn’s manager last week. We are in constant dialogue with them. To be candid we are probably a fair way apart but we are not without hope.

“Selwyn is obviously an academy product who has come through our system. We know how much he loves the club. We feel the same way about Selwyn.

“He is having a challenging run on field at the moment but he will bounce back. We are all trying to wrap our arms around him at the moment and support him and get him back to being the player he can be. Enjoying his footy.