Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs has credited his partner for helping to get his career back on track, as the gun centre looks to cap off a superb season with an NRL premiership. It comes as more details emerge around the axing of Gehamat Shibasaki, with Brisbane’s players revealing the ‘unwritten law’ the Origin centre broke that saw him dumped for the final round victory over Melbourne.
Staggs’ men claimed fourth spot and a double chance in the finals after their stunning upset of the Storm. And Brisbane will be hoping to spring another shock against minor premiers Canberra on Sunday, knowing victory would leave them just two more wins away from the club’s first premiership since 2006.
Kotoni Staggs (L) says his partner helped save his NRL career as Broncos teammates speak out about the recent axing of Gehamat Shibasaki (R). Pic: Getty
Key to their hopes will be the form of Staggs, who is firming for selection in the Kangaroos’ Ashes squad after emerging as one of the competition’s best centres this season. Staggs admits he’s torn between representing Australia and Samoa after featuring for both Test nations previously.
But he revealed that his stunning resurgence has a lot to with the influence of his partner Brittany Becht, who helped turn the 26-year-old’s life around when he was at a crossroads in 2021. Staggs was making headlines for the wrong reasons after being involved in a couple of off-field incidents that prompted a private meeting from NRL CEO Andrew Abdo.
It was also around that time that Staggs met his partner, and her influence was key to his desire to become a better role model. It also helped Staggs rediscover some of the best form of his career since bursting onto the scene as a teenager at the Broncos under Wayne Bennett in 2018.
“I didn’t start my career the way I should have away from footy. You are young once and you live and learn. I definitely learned what was right and wrong,” Staggs said. “I have got a lot of nephews and nieces. I looked at myself when I was in (the media) for bad reasons and I wanted them to look up to their uncle.
“I knew I had to turn it around. Meeting my partner was a big change for me. I wouldn’t be where I am today without what she has done for me… I needed someone like that to be able to give me a nudge to pull my head in. She’s done that, been by my side ever since and that was the turning point.” The couple have since become engaged, with Staggs popping the question last year.
Kotoni Staggs and his long-time partner Brittany Becht became engaged last year. Pic: Instagram/Kotoni Staggs
Broncos booze ban behind Gehamat Shibasaki’s axing
Staggs’ personal growth culminated in his elevation to Michael Maguire’s leadership group at Brisbane this season, alongside captain Adam Reynolds, Pat Carrigan, Payne Haas and Ben Hunt. The Broncos leaders have been the driving force behind a squad-wide booze ban that Shibasaki broke after the Broncos beat the Cowboys in round 26, which led to his final round axing.
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“There is not a straight line in the sand that we are not drinking but it is an (unwritten law) that, ‘We are off the drink boys’,” Hunt told The Courier Mail. “No-one has come out and said it but I think it is common knowledge that we are in the finals and it is time to knuckle down and go after it.
“As much as the noise goes on outside there is a real mature group here that are working really hard to win a competition. The guys are working really hard to sacrifice whatever they need to.”
TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 30: Gehamat Shibasaki of the Broncos celebrates after scoring a try during the round 26 NRL match between North Queensland Cowboys and Brisbane Broncos at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, on August 30, 2025, in Townsville, Australia. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Shibasaki has barely put a foot wrong after a fairytale season that saw him go from a Broncos train-and-trial deal, to an Origin winner with Queensland. His decision to go out drinking after the win in North Queensland was a rare misstep but Carrigan says Shibasaki and the club have put it behind them.
“’Gem’ has been great this year,” he said. “He is only human. He made a mistake and I have made mistakes. We dealt with his incident and that’s the standards of the club. Now we just move on.”
with AAP