Journalists at work
Brent Read:
“The Broncos are talking about bigger targets like Kalyn Ponga. At the end of this year, he’s got an option in his contract that means you can negotiate with him from November 1 this year. The Broncos have internally spoken about Kalyn Ponga. 2023 and 2024 are player options, he hasn’t taken them up. 2022 he’s locked in, but [the options] mean he can talk to clubs from November 1 this year. I will say this about Kalyn Ponga and Brisbane, he could earn ridiculous amounts of money in Brisbane. He would be the face of that club for the next 5-10 years. He could earn the sort of money we’ve never seen before for a rugby league player ever.”
Phil Murphy, who owns 22 per cent of the Broncos:
“I feel so sorry for Kevin. He has inherited a poisoned chalice and he isn’t getting the leadership to help him. The club hasn’t even had a CEO for the past three months. He did a great job for Queensland at Origin level and is a wonderful bloke, but he has been thrown in the deep end at the Broncos. Kevvie has been handed the equivalent of a mansion that has been bulldozed to the ground. The mansion is in ruins and someone is asking Kevin to rebuild it piece by piece. That’s the task ahead of him. It would be very difficult for him at the moment.”
Barry Maranta:
“Why have we got four guys who could play for NSW and just one who is a real chance of playing for Queensland? That, to me, is turning the Broncos upside down. That wasn’t part of our growth pattern in the first 25 years of the club. Queensland State of Origin selection is not the be-all and end-all, but it is a litmus test. Clearly we have failed in our recruiting. It happened on someone’s watch. We have only got one player (Coates) who is really in contention, whereas in the old days we would have nine or 10.”
“I look at someone like Sam Walker who has Broncos blood running through his veins and it gives me indigestion that he is playing for the Roosters. Where did that come from? We should be out in Charleville and Roma looking around like we used to be.’’
Karl Morris:
“Kevin has always had the green light to formulate a roster to win a grand final. Everyone realises that it is not something he can do overnight.”
Andrew Johns:
“If I was the Broncos I would go in so hard for Shaun Johnson, he‘s the player they need. If they had two world-class halves, they would make the top eight. Can you imagine as a halfback playing behind Payne Haas and Tevita Pangai Jnr? You’d be licking your lips every week. "
Laurie Daley:
“The Broncos are losing some of the best talent in the game and they can’t afford to continually do that because this is the Broncos that never lost a player. They would keep players for unders. This is a different Broncos to what it was five to 10 years ago. They’ve lost that lust. The impact he (Walsh) had straight away for this Warriors team. He’s an 18-year old kid that is going to be brilliant if he stays injury-free from what I saw last night. I’ve seen all the highlights on YouTube of him. I can’t believe the Broncos have let Walker and Walsh go. They are the future of the Broncos right there and they’ve let them go. I don’t know how they’ve missed them.”
Paul Kent:
I think they have to go and find ways of getting cap to go into the market to find a halfback. They are speaking to Mitchell Moses, he’s got until Round 10 to call up the option with Parramatta. They’re already in negotiations with him. Shaun Johnson at Cronulla has been offered one year at $400,000 he’ll be looking for more than that. Then there’s Adam Reynolds who will probably end up at Cronulla and then you’ve got Daly Cherry-Evans who has come out and told his teammates he’s not going anywhere but the Broncos are certainly getting ready to move in.”
Chris Garry:
“Shaun Johnson now in Brisbane’s crosshairs, the enigmatic halfback is off-contract but unlike Adam Reynolds and Mitchell Moses, he doesn’t have strong ties to Sydney. It is understood Shaun Johnson is most likely to land at Red Hill.”
Phil Rothfield:
“If Reynolds decides to leave South Sydney, I am very, very confident he will be playing for the Cronulla Sharks. He does not want to take his young family out of Sydney, it is a long way to Cronulla, he spends a lot of his time in the Shire in summer. I think it is a really good fit for the remainder of his career. He will get a three-year contract. I’m told Craig Fitzgibbon, although he’s not publicly commenting on recruitment at the moment, his dream halves combination is Reynolds at half and Shaun Johnson at five-eighth.”
James Hooper:
“I think Staggs is a big chance of going to the Parramatta Eels. Mitchell Moses has been continually linked to the Broncos. What is he thinking after that performance? How is that a good sales pitch? It wouldn’t matter how much money they offer you.”
Michael Ennis:
“Whether Staggs wants to stay there and see if the Broncos can turn it around, I don’t know if he’ll have the patience to do that given he could probably attract near enough the same money somewhere else and get success in the near future. Brisbane are a long way off.”
Andrew Webster:
“There is a lot of expectation that the Broncos are going to be quite active in the halfback market after letting Tom Dearden go. One of Moses or Johnson they're going to make a big play for because they’ve cleared up some money. Mitchell Moses is talking to the Eels at the moment… but their concern is that they’re going to get blown out of the water money-wise by the Broncos.”
Kevin Walters:
“The plan is to get someone (an established playmaker) and I believe we will. I won’t name names but, yes, I’m after an experienced playmaker. That’s my priority and that’s what I am looking for. I’m certainly looking at a number of playmakers. Everyone can see we need an experienced playmaker and I’m going to the market.”
McHunt
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