The North Queensland Cowboys have addressed rumours that the club were interested in poaching Selwyn Cobbo from the Brisbane Broncos for the 2026 NRL season.
A cornerstone of the Broncos run to the 2023 NRL Grand Final, Cobbo has been one of the club's best players since his debut in 2021 and has gone on to play 68 matches and earn honours in both the State of Origin and international arenas for Queensland and Australia.
Able to speak with other teams from November 1, the 22-year-old is one of many players at the club who are off-contract at the end of the 2025 season and is set to demand a ton of interest from rival clubs.
Over the past five days, the rumour mill has been humming that the Cowboys were showing a keen interest in their rival team's centre to replace the departing Valentine Holmes.
However, Cowboys chiefs confirmed to The Courier-Mail that Cobbo is not on their radar and won't be playing for them in 2026, shutting down the rumours in the process.
According to the publication, Cobbo's future at Red Hill still remains unclear as the club has yet to table him a contract extension as he prepares to enter the open market on November 1 and is destined to catch the interest of several rival teams.
This isn't the first time Cobbo has been linked with an exit out of Red Hill.
Earlier this year, reports emerged that the Sydney Roosters were interested in signing him with the departures of Joseph Manu and Joseph Suaalii to the 15-man code.
Although it is understood that his preference is to remain at the Brisbane Broncos, there has been constant chatter that he is weighing up testing the open market, where he is sure to demand interest alongside fellow centre Kotoni Staggs.
The Broncos are also facing salary cap issues and are unlikely to retain both, as Ezra Mam, Patrick Carrigan, and Payne Haas are all on big-money contracts heading into the future - Reece Walsh is set to join them in the coming months.
Currently on $625,000 a season, Cobbo is set to earn a significant pay rise in his next contract, making him one of the highest-paid outside backs in the competition.
“Until I sort of understand the cap, I can't really make judgment,” Brisbane Broncos head coach Michael Maguire said on SEN Radio.
“Obviously they're players that I definitely want. They're high quality players and that's what makes the team the way it is.
“I'll look at the style of how we play, and obviously defensively. It goes without saying that you need to be a very strong defensive team to be able to win a competition.
“You've got two teams that just played recently in Melbourne and Penrith. They're the two best defensive teams.
“That comes back with the style of player, the attitude of the player, and working towards that as a group as well.
“There's a lot of talent, but ultimately the hard work is on the other side of the ball when you don't have it, and that's the defensive side. We need to be strong in that area.”