Brisbane Broncos forward Kobe Hetherington could soon find himself away from Red Hill and playing for another club after being granted permission to speak with rival teams.
Although he is contracted with the club until the conclusion of the 2025 NRL season, Hetherington has been linked with an exit from the club as Kevin Walters and the coaching staff attempt to shake up their roster.
The rebuild at Red Hill comes after the Broncos have gone from 2023 Grand Finalists to being ruled out on making the 2024 NRL Finals after losing to The Dolphins last weekend.
As the Broncos attempt to return to the finals next season, it is reported that several mass changes are set to occur in the coming months as the Broncos aim to reclaim their success and Walters looks to retain his head coaching job.
Speaking withย The Courier Mail, Hetherington's manager, Chris Haddad, confirmed to the publication that the Broncos have given the forward permission to speak with rival clubs and test the open market.
โI've spoken to the Broncos and they have given us permission to talk to other clubs,โ Haddad said.
โThere's no issue at all with โKevvie' (coach Walters). Kobe likes Kevvie and respects him as a coach.
โKobe loves the Broncos and ideally he doesn't want to leave, but he understands it's hard to get a starting spot at the Broncos with the roster they have.โ
The revelation comes after he was linked with a move to the Wests Tigers and has failed to break into the starting team, typically entering the match off the interchange bench and playing limited minutes.
The son of formerย QLD Maroonsย and Kangaroos representative Jason Hetherington, Kobe has made 77 appearances for theย Brisbane Broncosย since his debut in 2021 - 22 of those coming from this season.
He has made 1483 total running metres (67 per match), 527 tackles (94.4 per cent tackle efficiency), 25 tackle busts, and one try against the Gold Coast Titans in Round 22 this season.
In testing the open market, Hetherington has already caught the interest of five NRL clubs, including confirmation that the Wests Tigers are one of those teams, per his manager.
โThe Broncos are reluctant to release Kobe but they will for 2025 if they can find a replacement player,โ Haddad added.
โI think he deserves a starting spot. He has played nearly 80 first-grade games since 2021 and is one of the best defensive players in the game.
โKobe has interest from five NRL clubs, including the Tigers. A number of clubs are keen but they said they will start talking with us once they have worked out their rosters for next year.
โThe Tigers aren't the only club keen on Kobe.โ
