Bulldogs close in on Broncos young gun Brendan Piakura
Bulldogs chair John Khoury has opened up on his club’s pursuit of Brisbane sensation Brendan Piakura as the Broncos launch a rearguard assault to keep the teenager from becoming the latest emerging superstar to walk out the door.
Piakura has toured Canterbury-Bankstown’s Belmore facilities and held talks with coach Trent Barrett, heightening speculation that the club are leading the race for the 18-year-old as they prepare to meet the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
Khoury revealed they were among five clubs believed to be in the mix for the teenager and confirmed they were hopeful of receiving an answer in the next fortnight. Brisbane remain confident that they will keep Piakura, but they were also bullish about fullback Reece Walsh only to have him join the Warriors.
They can ill-afford to lose another integral component of their future, hence the 11th hour moves to convince Piakura to stay.
“We’re one of five clubs that are actually interested in him,” Khoury said.
“He’s a good kid and we would be delighted to have him but there is some stiff competition. So we’ll see how it goes in the next week or so.
“Baz (coach Trent Barrett) is a good judge of football players so let’s see what happens.”
Piakura has also attracted interest from the Gold Coast Titans, one of three Broncos players in the sights of their near neighbours along with Kotoni Staggs and Xavier Coates.
The Broncos are expected to hold further talks with Piakura’s family this week as they look to fend off interest in a player who has been touted as one of the game’s emerging stars.
The club landed a significant blow in the player market on Tuesday afternoon when back rower Jordan Riki signed a contract extension that will tie him to the club until the end of 2024.
“There is always talk about a young roster here and that sort of thing, but I think the club is doing a massive thing ..... churning out good quality players that every other club wants,” said Broncos forward Patrick Carrigan, who rejected a big offer from the Bulldogs a few years ago.
“I think they are doing something right in that department and I think it is really important that we try to keep Brendy.
“I stay pretty neutral on these things and tell him I want to keep him, but everyone has their own reasons and he has to make that decision for himself.
“I know Kevvie is building something at the club where everyone wants to be part of it.”
Asked whether the loss of Walsh and the potential departure of Piakura hinted at a cultural issue within the Broncos, Carrigan said the players could help the club’s cause by winning games.
The Broncos have started the season with consecutive losses and some have billed Saturday’s game against the Bulldogs as an early playoff for the wooden spoon.
That may be premature, but there is no doubt the Broncos need to start winning some games to ease the pressure on the players, Walters and the club.
You only had to look at the response to revelations that the club had cancelled a day at the races involving their Old Boys to get a gauge of the intense atmosphere around the Broncos at the moment.
Carrigan backed that decision and denied the club had cultural issues.
“I don’t think there is a cultural issue or anything like that. players leave for different reasons and they are all personal reasons,” Carrigan said.
“Players leave every club and they happen to be leaving the Broncos at the moment. I don’t think there is a cultural issue. We are all really good mates on and off the field.
“When you win footy games, that goes a long way to keeping young talents and young kids at the club because they want to be part of it.
“I feel responsible for that and I know some of the other boys do. We need to put performances on the field and somewhat bring it back to a club that people want to play in.”
www.theaustralian.com.au