Brisbane Broncos' new head coach, Michael Maguire, is confident of retaining Kotoni Staggs as the November 1 deadline for players off-contract at the end of 2025 to negotiate with rival clubs' approaches.
Staggs is one of those players and will be able to go to the open market from November 1.
It has always been suggested his preference is to remain in the Queensland capital, but there are no guarantees given the salary cap headaches at Red Hill.
The Broncos, already stretched on the salary front given their deals for the likes of Ezra Mam, Payne Haas, Patrick Carrigan and edge forwards Jordan Riki and Brendan Piakura, who have all re-signed in recent times, have the impending negotiations for all of Reece Walsh, Selwyn Cobbo and Staggs.
The trio are all off-contract at the end of 2025, and the common view is that the club will be unable to retain all three under the constraints of the salary cap.
It's understood negotiations with Walsh over a million-dollar per year deal are well and truly advanced, and now Maguire has confirmed Staggs is a priority.
“I've spoken to Kotoni and really enjoyed the conversation,” Maguire said per News Corp.
“I had a close eye on Kotoni this year as NSW Origin coach, so I've got a connection there with him.
“First things first, I need to get to the Broncos and look at where we stand with the roster, but Kotoni is an elite player, and he can play a big role for us.”
It's understood Staggs is on a deal of around $700,000 per year but would likely fetch an upgrade in his new contract - although not as much in Brisbane as he would elsewhere.
That could yet tempt Staggs to head to the open market as former centre partner Herbie Farnworth did last year before he signed with Brisbane's rivals, the Dolphins.
Should Staggs and Walsh both re-sign, it could leave Selwyn Cobbo as the odd man out looking for a new club, given the Broncos may simply not have the financial power to keep the talented youngster on board.
The other consideration is that Cobbo will eventually want to shift to fullback, having been used as a winger and centre by former Broncos coach Kevin Walters since his NRL debut.