Four clubs are circling for Thomas Flegler, but the Broncos' enforcer reportedly has a desire to remain in Queensland which will make it a race between two.
The Broncos have built an excellent three-pronged middle third in recent times, with Flegler joined by Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan.
While Flegler has struggled to keep himself on the field with multiple suspensions, he was near his best when on the field in 2022, complementing Carrigan and Haas perfectly.
That doesn't mean he is a sure thing to remain part of Kevin Walters' side at Red Hill though.
News Corp are reporting that all of the Dolphins, Sydney Roosters and Manly Sea Eagles are interested in the off-contract forward, who has been able to sign with a rival club since November 1 last year.
It appears he wants to make a call before Round 1 though, with a decision expected to be made potentially in the next 48 hours.
It's understood his desire to remain in Queensland will rule the Sea Eagles and Roosters out of the running for the impactful forward, although financially, it appears the offers from New South Wales were unlikely to sway the opinion of the 23-year-old, who made a solitary appearance for Queensland in 2021 and has 74 NRL games under his belt since debuting for the Broncos back in 2019.
That means the Broncos and Dolphins are the two clubs in the running, but the Dolphins are reportedly tabling an offer of $800,000 per season.
That is $150,000 per season more than that of the Broncos, and over a four-year period, would amount to a grand total of $600,000 extra to roll through the bank account of the prop.
Should it be enough to convince Flegler to relocate to the north of Brisbane, he will become the second big-name to make the switch, with Herbie Farnworth confirming he is heading to Redcliffe this week.
The centre's exit is a big blow for the Broncos, although undoubtedly one they could have seen coming.
Farnworth has reportedly been unhappy since Brisbane signed Reece Walsh to play fullback late last year from the New Zealand Warriors, with the English import wanting to make the switch back to the number one jumper.
The signing of Walsh has already cost the Broncos Tesi Niu, who also went to the Warriors, and Te Maire Martin, who has gone the other way to Walsh and joined the Warriors.
In the forwards though, it's understood the Broncos are resigned to the fact they may be outbid by Wayne Bennett and the Dolphins for Flegler, with the Red Hill-based operation instead putting their middle third priorities on Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan, who both played State of Origin last year, and would have been in the Australian squad together had Haas not suffered an injury at the back-end of the year.
Both Carrigan and Haas are on deals until the end of 2024, and will become urgent priorities for the Broncos retention team the longer this season drags along, with both able to sign with other clubs from November 1 this year should they fail to re-sign with the Broncos, who fell out of the top eight in a dismal collapse at the end of the 2022 campaign.
