The Sydney Roosters have found some support for incoming dummy-half Brandon Smith, signing former Brisbane Broncos No.9 Jake Turpin as a back-up option for the 2023 season, per Triple M Brisbane.
Reports of the Bondi club's interest in Turpin first emerged at the end of September after it was revealed that the Broncos were saying farewell to a number of players at their end-of-season awards night.
Talks look to have reached a successful conclusion, despite the fact that Turpin is likely to find himself in a similar position at the Roosters as he was at Brisbane.
Smith has previously mentioned how influential the promise of the starting No.9 jersey was in his decision to go to Bondi, and it was a sudden lack of a guarantee of regular first-grade football that forced Verrills to end his stay in the Eastern suburbs.
It remains to be seen where Turpin fits into Trent Robinson's plan, but there is a belief that he can assist at dummy-half should Smith find himself moved to lock forward at any point.
While Turpin has a reputation as a hard worker and tough defender, he struggled to assert himself north of the border as the Broncos rotated between himself, Billy Walters and Corey Paix.
He had also previously found himself in a similar situation in Melbourne, stuck behind Harry Grant and new Roosters teammate Smith. Despite a significant stay in the Storm's NYC set-up, he was never promoted to the NRL during his time in the Victorian capital.
Both player and club are expected to confirm the news in the coming days.