Broncos player makes call on Cobbo and Staggs after Reece Walsh sparks $5 million headache
The Brisbane Broncos star does not want to see the players leave the club.
Jesse Arthars is the latest Broncos player to call for the club to do everything they can to retain Selwyn Cobbo and Kotoni Staggs as the salary cap squeeze is being felt in Brisbane. The Broncos have made a number of mega signings in a bid to secure their talent, having locked down stars Payne Haas, Ezra Mam and Patrick Carrigan on big deals.
Most recently, Reece Walsh signed the biggest contract in the club's history having extended his stay on a $5 million deal. However, all these moves from the Broncos hierarchy have placed extra pressure to retain a number of other players with their contracts expiring.
And it is no secret both Staggs and Cobbo are looking at their options with the Broncos unlikely to retain both unless one or both take a significant pay cut. Maguire recently praised Staggs' leadership at Broncos training and claimed the centre wanted a new deal at the club.
This leaves Cobbo in trouble with the club seemingly unable to offer him a boosted deal after the 2025 season. Maguire admitted Cobbo could be set for a positional switch as well in 2025, which could also determine whether the Broncos star wants to stay in Brisbane.
While Maguire has admitted the club's priority is to get both players locked down on extended deals, it may not be easy with Cobbo set to demand huge offers from rival clubs. But winger Arthars has claimed the playing group want both stars to stay in Brisbane.
"I don't want to see them leave. They're obviously great mates of mine and they bring a lot of culture to this club as well. Cobbs and Tones are two players at the club who we'll be looking to hold onto," Arthars said.
"They've always been good for this group. Tones is a massive player in this club, and behind the four walls that you guys wouldn't see, he's a very big leader. He was captain a few times last year and the year before, he's part of our leadership group and one of the driving forces in changing this culture and trying to make it a better place."
Walsh's deal has put the Broncos under pressure heading into future seasons, but Ben Hunt's introduction has also raised eyebrows. Hunt joined on a reported two-year deal, worth $600,000 a season. And while it isn't a massive setback, every dollar is eating into the Broncos' salary cap. And the club is clearly showing their desire to push for a NRL premiership in the next two seasons with the signing of Hunt. This could determine whether both Cobbo and Staggs want to stay and push for a title, or seek a bigger money offer elsewhere.
Michael Maguire praises Kotoni Staggs' leadership
Recently, Maguire also praised Staggs' leadership having only just started pre-season with his new team as coach. Maguire has been pushing the players in training in an attempt to turn around last season's efforts, which saw the team miss out on the top eight.
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And Maguire said one of the players that has impressed him the most since joining is Staggs. "Kotoni definitely wants to be a Bronco and has spoken to me about what the club means to him. Those players we want to keep here, hang on to and keep growing as Broncos," he said.
Jesse Arthars praises standards under Michael Maguire
Speaking on the pre-season and what Maguire has brought to the club, Arthars said the team is becoming aware of the standards expected of them heading into 2025. And he said this has started at training. "The boys have just been a bit more accountable for their errors, so if someone drops the ball we're all down doing 10 push ups," Arthars said.
"Everyone's working really hard. It's obviously a different training regimen this year so the boys have been adapting to that over the last couple of weeks. When you get a new coach it's obviously refreshing and he has different ideas, different concepts on how he wants us to play.
"I guess it's just refreshing to see what Madge (Maguire) brings. We're obviously still learning. It's still early days, but Madge has been really good so far."
