Michael Maguire is still of the opinion he can convince off-contract Selwyn Cobbo to stay at the Broncos on a cheaper contract, even as the Dragons and Cowboys look to sign the 23-year-old as early as this week.
Cobbo, who was dropped to the Queensland Cup last round, is tipped to leave the Broncos before the end of his current contract after his club offered him just $300,000 a year to stay.
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The lowball offer sent Cobbo and his agent ringing around to other clubs — and after preliminary conversations (and a jet south to Wollongong last week), the interested suitors have boiled down to three: The Dragons, Cowboys, and Dolphins.
Of those three, St George Illawarra and North Queensland are in the race negotiation-wise, with the Dragons informally tabling Cobbo an 18-month, $600,000-a-year deal on Monday.
The Cowboys haven’t offered Cobbo anything yet, but did reach out to Red Hill’s powerbrokers to see if they’d release him before the June 30 deadline. (The driving force there, The Sporting Base understands, is club boss Michael Luck, rather than Todd Payten.)
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Broncos coach “Madge” still thinks Brisbane can stay in the ongoing signing race, though, and doesn’t want to let Cobbo leave early.
Things haven’t been helped by there by other retentions; the club just tied up boom rookie Josiah Karapani for a further two seasons after his stellar first two games, suggesting Cobbo may find it tricky to break back into the team’s matchday 17.
Cobbo, who insiders say is “unhappy” with the Broncos, doesn’t want to take a $300K paycut either.
For the time being, it’s a June 30 waiting game for the Broncos, Dragons, and Cowboys. It seems like Cobbo would prefer to stay in Queensland if he had the choice — which is the only reason the Dolphins are in the battle — but St George Illawarra and North Queensland could quickly lose interest if they can’t get Cobbo straight away.
Cobbo will speak to club bosses at Red Hill again this week, with Maguire involved too, The Sporting Base understands. Once that sit-down is wrapped up, every party with a stake will have a clearer picture.
