Broncos Roster, Signings and Rumours Discussion 2025

[Sproj]

Semu's deal is an NRL deal for 26 and 27.

Do you know about the other guys in @BroncsFan 's list?

In terms of Semu, he looks pretty good. He looks a bit like Palasia in the way he plays. Huge upside but even if he just turns into a solid first grader who actually makes metres, that would be a huge win. He's very much flying under the radar but given we've committed multiple years to him, we clearly rate him.

 

[Wolfie]

Do you know about the other guys in @BroncsFan 's list?

In terms of Semu, he looks pretty good. He looks a bit like Palasia in the way he plays. Huge upside but even if he just turns into a solid first grader who actually makes metres, that would be a huge win. He's very much flying under the radar but given we've committed multiple years to him, we clearly rate him.

Us producing solid first graders is something we actually need. They dont need all be superstars, they just need to be able to do the jobs they are given and enable the more talented players to do their jobs. I think we overlook these players so much.

Our fan base also gets way too hyped over young players who come in and play well for a couple of games, or young players outside first grade who look good ( like Black or even Niu for example ) and then get the clamour to throw them into the NRL. Any player who looks half decent is apparently a " gun " when in reality, most arent.

 

[theshed]

Semu's deal is an NRL deal for 26 and 27.

How do you rate him?

 

[theshed]

Us producing solid first graders is something we actually need. They dont need all be superstars, they just need to be able to do the jobs they are given and enable the more talented players to do their jobs. I think we overlook these players so much.

Our fan base also gets way too hyped over young players who come in and play well for a couple of games, or young players outside first grade who look good ( like Black or even Niu for example ) and then get the clamour to throw them into the NRL. Any player who looks half decent is apparently a " gun " when in reality, most arent.

Yeah I feel like we’ve been stuck in a perpetual loop since 2020 of only progressing the “next superstar”.

This means we feel pressured to debut them early, pay out the ass to keep them, then either lose them or another “superstar” to fit them in our cap after their first contract upgrade.

We then replace the guy who was squeezed out with another “gun”.

Obviously very few reach the heights we believe they should, and we are left with an expensive team of rocks and diamonds flashy players.

What we should be doing is picking the best few in key positions than investing heavily in developing reliable midrangers.

I know a lot people hated these players so I won’t name them but what made the 2011 team or 2015 teams bearable is that we had a few stars in key positions, surrounded by veterans and semi-reliable shirt fillers.

Our 2011 and 2015 squad had a healthy amount of those Jesse Arthars level players spread across the team.

 

[Big Pete]

Our 2011 and 2015 squad had a healthy amount of those Jesse Arthars level players spread across the team.

What about 2023 where they literally had Jesse Arthars in the team?

So much of Rugby League has to do with timing and as the code has become more professional, the expectations of players having long lustrous careers have grown. However, I think for a lot of them, they only provide that initial value before you have to look elsewhere.

The difficult part is identifying your Billy Slaters, Cameron Smiths, Cooper Cronks, Ryan Hoffmans etc. who you can build your club around.

 

[1910]

Do you know about the other guys in @BroncsFan 's list?

In terms of Semu, he looks pretty good. He looks a bit like Palasia in the way he plays. Huge upside but even if he just turns into a solid first grader who actually makes metres, that would be a huge win. He's very much flying under the radar but given we've committed multiple years to him, we clearly rate him.

Bukowski signed his development deal at the end of Year 12 in 2023.
Bryce development deal is for this year.

 

[1910]

How do you rate him?

Last two weeks have been good, he really took it to Townsville who are having an excellent year. He came on at 18-0 and when he went off it was 28-16. He was rewarded starting this week and again went well. He's having more impact than Te Kura.

 

[BroncsFan]

What about 2023 where they literally had Jesse Arthars in the team?

So much of Rugby League has to do with timing and as the code has become more professional, the expectations of players having long lustrous careers have grown. However, I think for a lot of them, they only provide that initial value before you have to look elsewhere.

The difficult part is identifying your Billy Slaters, Cameron Smiths, Cooper Cronks, Ryan Hoffmans etc. who you can build your club around.

But also maintaining that conveyor belt of first graders providing value.

That's where the head coach, recruitment and development systems all come into play.

You want the R&R to be identifying and signing up the conveyor belt of players coming through, but you also need the coach to turn them into first graders as soon as possible.

Penrith were the prime example of this, but I think other Sydney teams have started vulturing from their development systems as well... so they are now getting picked apart from both ends of the cap and it looks like the conveyor belt has come to a halt.

 

[1910]

But also maintaining that conveyor belt of first graders providing value.

That's where the head coach, recruitment and development systems all come into play.

You want the R&R to be identifying and signing up the conveyor belt of players coming through, but you also need the coach to turn them into first graders as soon as possible.

Penrith were the prime example of this, but I think other Sydney teams have started vulturing from their development systems as well... so they are now getting picked apart from both ends of the cap and it looks like the conveyor belt has come to a halt.

Ryley Smith is a great example, Eels got him from Penrith- He's on a development deal at Eels but played 11 games this year. Your starting hooker being on $60k and not on the cap and has played 80 minutes at times this year.

That's fantastic recruitment and value.

 

[BroncsFan]

Ryley Smith is a great example, Eels got him from Penrith- He's on a development deal at Eels but played 11 games this year. Your starting hooker being on $60k and not on the cap and has played 80 minutes at times this year.

That's fantastic recruitment and value.

Yep... but what Big Pete is talking about in his earlier comment is that eventually Ryley will need to get paid.

At that point parra will need to pay him or have someone else coming through on the conveyor belt to replace him and the value he is providing.

A spine position that is playing week in week out is probably getting himself a new deal with parra, but it starts to become a more important question with guys that are in supporting roles I.e. middles, edges and outside backs.

Panthers were having to continually lose guys like Kiks, Crichton, Taruva, etc. because they had the next line of guys coming through.

But if you're conveyor belt is getting picked apart as well as your top 30 squad needing to be paid or vultured, then it's going to be impossible to sustain... and it looks like that time may have come for Penrith.

I don't necessarily think it will be a long downturn for Penrith because their junior systems are set up so well... potentially by next year guys that have been brought in with be full fledged first graders and younger guys outside the top 30 might see pathways to first grade as Penrith will still be losing and replacing guys.

 

[BroncsFan]

Ryley Smith is a great example, Eels got him from Penrith- He's on a development deal at Eels but played 11 games this year. Your starting hooker being on $60k and not on the cap and has played 80 minutes at times this year.

That's fantastic recruitment and value.

Ryley Smith is a potential case study compared to someone like Mozer.

Ryley Smith has come in on a development deal... I'm not sure what kind of contracts he was on at penrith, but he's come to parra and is into first grade and has now already played more first grade games than Mozer has.

It should be noted that Ryley is a year older than Mozer at 22 vs 21, but is it an example of NSWRL players being better prepared to come into NRL compared to Qcup... or is it potentially an example of broncos bringing guys into their top 30 before they are actually ready... which impacts on the quality of depth, because it's filled with young guys that aren't ready for first grade.

Even comparing Mozer to Harry Grant is interesting. He didn't become a full fledged first grader until he was 22, so Mozer is still a year away from that mark, yet by the same time he will be onto his second top 30 contract.

Storm were able to get some value years out of Harry before he got his big payday, but Mozer will be moving into a second contract and we still aren't really seeing value for that top 30 spot. Madge and the broncos now need to determine what value he is, even though we haven't really seen much of him in first grade as yet.

Looking further into Ryley he's only down as playing 4 NSWRL Cup games compared to Mozer's 40+... I'm assuming he was playing Flegg and the various grades they have down there... but it makes me wonder if the systems down there are better at preparing guys for first grade than what the broncos are doing.

Are the broncos investing as much as they should be in their affiliates to ensure the guys are being coached well enough that they are ready to come into first grade.

Sydney clubs like penrith and parra have pathways all the way through to first grade, so the first grade coaching can have some influence on what is happening at the lower levels coaching, high performance, recovery, training, etc. There is potentially also more interest in the players coming through down there, because they are all panthers... from top to bottom rather than the star juniors amongst the part timers and journeymen.

Broncos wouldn't get that, unless they had an agreement to support their affiliates in that way... but do they treat the affiliates more like babysitters until they have to be picked for first grade.

Will the reintroduction of the NYC help or hinder on the development front for the broncos... or will they field a team because they have to and keep the top line guys in the Qcup system... which I think has already been flagged.

I think it would be interesting to get the opinion from someone like Barrett who has been a head coach for NSWRL clubs, and has overseen the development systems at big clubs like Canterbury, but also elite setups like penrith, to take a look at what's happening across our affiliates and pathways setups.

I would hope we are also leaning on the skills of someone like Barrett ... I know he's basically a meme across the league, but from all reports he was an excellent halves coach coming through and he has lived and breathed NSWRL coaching for a long time now. I'd love to see Barrett at the affiliate programs coaching our young halves coming through... he would be seeing Coby most days (I would hope), but even the next guys below him... the 16/17yr olds coming through... get them in town for a halves coaching clinic with Barrett a few times a year.

 

[1910]

Ryley Smith is a potential case study compared to someone like Mozer.

Ryley Smith has come in on a development deal... I'm not sure what kind of contracts he was on at penrith, but he's come to parra and is into first grade and has now already played more first grade games than Mozer has.

It should be noted that Ryley is a year older than Mozer at 22 vs 21, but is it an example of NSWRL players being better prepared to come into NRL compared to Qcup... or is it potentially an example of broncos bringing guys into their top 30 before they are actually ready... which impacts on the quality of depth, because it's filled with young guys that aren't ready for first grade.

Even comparing Mozer to Harry Grant is interesting. He didn't become a full fledged first grader until he was 22, so Mozer is still a year away from that mark, yet by the same time he will be onto his second top 30 contract.

Storm were able to get some value years out of Harry before he got his big payday, but Mozer will be moving into a second contract and we still aren't really seeing value for that top 30 spot. Madge and the broncos now need to determine what value he is, even though we haven't really seen much of him in first grade as yet.

Looking further into Ryley he's only down as playing 4 NSWRL Cup games compared to Mozer's 40+... I'm assuming he was playing Flegg and the various grades they have down there... but it makes me wonder if the systems down there are better at preparing guys for first grade than what the broncos are doing.

Are the broncos investing as much as they should be in their affiliates to ensure the guys are being coached well enough that they are ready to come into first grade.

Sydney clubs like penrith and parra have pathways all the way through to first grade, so the first grade coaching can have some influence on what is happening at the lower levels coaching, high performance, recovery, training, etc. There is potentially also more interest in the players coming through down there, because they are all panthers... from top to bottom rather than the star juniors amongst the part timers and journeymen.

Broncos wouldn't get that, unless they had an agreement to support their affiliates in that way... but do they treat the affiliates more like babysitters until they have to be picked for first grade.

Will the reintroduction of the NYC help or hinder on the development front for the broncos... or will they field a team because they have to and keep the top line guys in the Qcup system... which I think has already been flagged.

I think it would be interesting to get the opinion from someone like Barrett who has been a head coach for NSWRL clubs, and has overseen the development systems at big clubs like Canterbury, but also elite setups like penrith, to take a look at what's happening across our affiliates and pathways setups.

I would hope we are also leaning on the skills of someone like Barrett ... I know he's basically a meme across the league, but from all reports he was an excellent halves coach coming through and he has lived and breathed NSWRL coaching for a long time now. I'd love to see Barrett at the affiliate programs coaching our young halves coming through... he would be seeing Coby most days (I would hope), but even the next guys below him... the 16/17yr olds coming through... get them in town for a halves coaching clinic with Barrett a few times a year.

Smith played 21 Flegg games in 2024, 23 in 2023, 16 in 2022. 1 in 2021 and four Cup games in 2023 and 2024.

 

[mitch222]

Ryley Smith is a great example, Eels got him from Penrith- He's on a development deal at Eels but played 11 games this year. Your starting hooker being on $60k and not on the cap and has played 80 minutes at times this year.

That's fantastic recruitment and value.

I think Parra upgraded Smith to their full time squad to make him eligible to play before round 10 or something like that. Could be wrong but I think you have to have an NRL exemption to use a player from outside your top 30 at the start of the year until a certain round (only really for injuries to positions in such cases)

 

[BroncsFan]

I think Parra upgraded Smith to their full time squad to make him eligible to play before round 10 or something like that. Could be wrong but I think you have to have an NRL exemption to use a player from outside your top 30 at the start of the year until a certain round (only really for injuries to positions in such cases)

Nah that's no longer applicable to dev deal players... the round 11 rule is only applicable to train and trial players now.

 

[Fitzy]

Ryley Smith is a great example, Eels got him from Penrith- He's on a development deal at Eels but played 11 games this year. Your starting hooker being on $60k and not on the cap and has played 80 minutes at times this year.

That's fantastic recruitment and value.

Agreed but at the same time you don’t usually win comps with 60k rejects playing hooker. Whilst it’s astute business it’s not necessarily the business we are after.

 

[1910]

Agreed but at the same time you don’t usually win comps with 60k rejects playing hooker. Whilst it’s astute business it’s not necessarily the business we are after.

You make zero sense.

 

[Foordy]

I'm not overly upset, but I think we'll lose Cobbo now.

He's had an extended run fullback, proving he's definitely not a fullback at this level (at least not at this stage).

We'll offer him a fair deal for a winger, while I still predict a desperate club will make him an offer closer to fullback money. it would be hard to pass up an extra $300k or $400k a season

 

[Sproj]

I'm not overly upset, but I think we'll lose Cobbo now.

He's had an extended run fullback, proving he's definitely not a fullback at this level (at least not at this stage).

We'll offer him a fair deal for a winger, while I still predict a desperate club will make him an offer closer to fullback money. it would be hard to pass up an extra $300k or $400k a season

As much as I would prefer to keep him over Staggs, I don't mind if we lose a big name. Our squad clearly needs a wake up call and something like this might be what it needs.

That said, I would still be very surprised if Cobbo went somewhere else.