Brisbane Broncos star Selwyn Cobbo has reportedly landed on the radar of three rival clubs, with his currenty outfit yet to re-sign him.
While the Broncos have re-signed Reece Walsh, their salary cap is stretched, and it has been widely understood they may not be able to keep both Kotoni Staggs and Cobbo.
Staggs, also a player with State of Origin experience, is now understood to be the priority for the Broncos and new coach Michael Maguire, who spoke glowingly of the centre during his first week on deck at Red Hill.
While Maguire didn't coach Staggs at Origin level in 2024, the Broncos' centre did make his debut for the Blues in 2022 with a single game, and has also represented Australia three times, with all of those games coming during the 2023 Pacific Championships.
Given both Walsh and Staggs will be on increased money, it could see Cobbo left as the odd man out, with News Corp now reporting that the Broncos have delayed launching contract negotiations with him.
As the November 1 deadline has come and gone, that means other clubs can officially put offers in front of the star, and it's reported that at least two Sydney-based clubs, as well as one other side, have put contract paperwork in front of his management.
It has been widely reported he could be worth as much as one million dollars per year on the open market, although that offer may be tempered slightly given his form dropped away, particularly during the second half of the most recently completed season.
Further complicating the salary cap issues at Brisbane is the potential signing of Ben Hunt, with the Red Hill-based outfit now believ3ed to be in pole position for his services.
Maguire will want a balanced roster, and spending close to three million dollars on three players (Walsh, Staggs and Cobbo) in his back five, to go with big deals in the forwards for Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan could leave the Broncos scrambling to fill their squad.
It's unclear at this stage which rival clubs have made offers for Cobbo.