It appears that in the case of Selwyn Cobbo, the heart is stronger than the hip pocket, with the teenaged dynamo reportedly set to sign on and remain a Bronco.
Despite being yet to reach 20 first-grade appearances, the Cherbourg-born flyer is said to have rejected advances from almost every possible suitor to stay on at Red Hill and vie for a premiership with the club that first called him up to the big time.
While the 19-year-old's boyhood dream of tasting success as a Bronco will remain intact for some time to come, it has reportedly come at a cost.
According to reports fromย News Corp,ย Cobbo is said to have left as much as $200,000 per season on the table after rebuking deals within the vicinity of $900,000 per annum from interested rivals.
Having been forced to ward off advances from every side within to competition except for Melbourne and Penrith, Brisbane's brass will, no doubt, be breathing a sigh of relief, with Cobbo said to be close to inking an extension that will keep him under Kevin Walters' watch until the end of 2024.
While it was initially suggested that the Indigenous All-Stars representative was expected to sign an agreement that would keep him in the River City until the cessation of 2025, the wunderkind's management has reportedly sought to reconfigure their client's new deal.
It is said that this move to potentially shave time off Cobbo's stay at Suncorp was made in an effort to track the Bronco's trajectory as the star back enters his prime playing, and earning, years.
Speaking toย News Corp,ย Cobbo's manager, Tas Bartlett, delineated that Brisbane were in the box seat and that the old school values of negotiations in years gone by were not lost on his client.
โWeโre well advanced in negotiations with the Broncos, we are getting to the pointy end,โ Bartlett expressed.
โSelwyn wants to stay a Bronco.
โHe grew up following the Broncos, he is living his dream playing for the Broncos and they have done a lot of welfare work to help get Selwyn to this point.
โThe Broncos are in pole position, Selwyn is enjoying playing under Kevvie.
โHe wants to show a sense of loyalty to the club.โ
The ability to agree on a briefer deal is something that can be spun into a positive for the Broncos as well given it allows the club to keep their salary cap in order and move pieces to build around Cobbo into the future.
Though shorter than first intended, the new contract will also see the Broncos keep their shiniest new toy under lock and key while he develops in the public eye.
Though expressing that an ability to keep every name on their books was an impossibility, Broncos GM Ben Ikin claimed that Cobbo - amongst others - was the club's meal ticket back to prominence.
โThe challenge for us is to build a footy program that convinces guys like Selwyn Cobbo or Herbie Farnworth to stay,โ Ikin said.
โIf we do that, our best kids will find it very difficult to leave.
โWe wonโt be able to keep all our players all of the time, but Iโm confident we have a work environment that people love being a part of."
And with the Broncos already exceeding, or matching, their win-loss outputs from the past pair of seasons ahead of the Origin break, it appears that the program put in place by former teammates Ikin and Walters is one that is not only bearing fruit but will, once again, see players lining up to join rather than leave.
