BRISBANE, 09 JULY 2020 (NRL) – Brisbane’s David Fifita has informed Gold Coast officials he plans to knock back the club’s AUD$1.1 million(US$767,000) to offer to stay with the Broncos on a one-year extension.
Fifita’s latest round of negotiations sent the game into a spin on Tuesday night when he called coach Anthony Seibold to tell him he would be taking up the Titans lucrative offer for 2021.
But by Wednesday morning he had changed his mind and told Broncos officials he plans to sacrifice around $400,000(US$279,000) for next season with a view to cashing in during his next round of negotiations.
Neither club has made an official comment on Fifita’s future.
However, NRL.com has been told Fifita rang Gold Coast officials late on Wednesday to formally reject their seven-figure offer, though he is yet to put pen to paper on Brisbane’s estimated $700,000(US$488,000) deal.
Fifita is targeting a return from knee injury in next Friday’s Broncos-Wests Tigers clash and wants to make a call on his contract before then.
While the Titans could yet come back with a revised offer to try to sway Fifita again in the short-term, it’s understood the Gold Coast are willing to make another multimillion-dollar play when Fifita’s next contract is up for negotiation.
Re-committing to the battling Broncos on a short-term deal will see Fifita give up the best part of $400,000 next year, but also allows both parties to negotiate a long-term contract beyond 2021.
A one-year commitment will see the 20-year-old become a free agent again from 01 November.
Brisbane’s closest neighbour could well come calling again from that date, with Gold Coast patriarch Mal Meninga making plain his desire to make Fifita a marquee player the Titans can build around.
With Jai Arrow moving on next year and the likes of Ryan James, Kevin Proctor, Nathan Peats coming off contract in 2020 the Titans have the salary cap space to emphatically trump Brisbane both now and further down the track when it comes to Fifita’s services.
Complicating negotiations though is a looming split with his current agent Steve Deacon in December.
A one-year contract minimises the financial fallout that comes with changing managers, but would also allow the Fifita camp to keep their powder dry with regards to Brisbane’s disastrous 2020 campaign and salary cap situation.
Fifita’s mother Gwen has taken a lead role in talks, while a desire to stay north of the border close to his family has seen the Queensland Origin forward dismiss a move to Sydney at this stage of his career.
This time next year the Broncos will have far more room to move with its roster as Jack Bird and Anthony Milford headline a host of players coming off-contract, with the two under fire playmakers taking up almost $2 million (US$1.3 million) between them.
The club however is wary of loading up further big money deals into a forward pack that already boasts the likes of Payne Haas, Matt Lodge and Tevita Pangai, while other rising stars like Xavier Coates, Kotoni Staggs and Tom Dearden will also be coming off-contract in 2021.
Brisbane received a much-needed boost on Wednesday with confirmation Tesi Niu, who is Fifita’s first cousin, has taken up a one-year extension.
He too knocked back a more lucrative two-year offer from the Titans to remain at Red Hill in 2021.
