The Brisbane Broncos could be set to lose another young gun, with forward Brendan Piakura considering leaving the club after he was seen touring the Canterbury Bulldogs facility on Wednesday, reports The Courier Mail.
The Bulldogs have reportedly offered Piakura a two-year deal worth around $500,000 a season, and there is now growing pressure on the Broncos to make a serious play to retain him as well as trying to retain other out of contract stars such as Kotoni Staggs.
At this stage, it's believed the Bulldogs, Titans and Broncos are all in for Piakura, with The Courier Mail reporting the Bulldogs are leading the race at this stage.
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Former Broncos captain Corey Parker says Piakura is a great talent and can see why the Bulldogs are chasing hard for his talents.
“I’ve watched Brendan for some time and he is outstanding,” Parker said.
“In my mind Piakura is physically ready for the NRL now and he would be the perfect replacement for Alex Glenn in the back row next season.
“I really hope the Broncos can keep him because he is a brilliant back-row talent.
“I can see why the Bulldogs would be going hard for him ... there’s no doubt for me that he is NRL quality.”
Parker also added Piakura has the talent to represent Queensland at Origin level.
“Brendan has all the skills,” he said.
“Piakura is a different style of back-rower to David Fifita (ex-Bronco who defected to the Titans this season) ... he is a damaging ball-runner but I also like the fact he has mongrel in defence.
“He is a quietly-spoken sort of kid but he has a great attitude, I’m not surprised clubs are lining up to sign him.”