{"id":419157,"date":"2026-05-09T07:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T07:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/419157\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T07:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T07:12:12","slug":"broncos-could-lose-origin-centre-as-rival-clubs-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/419157\/","title":{"rendered":"Broncos could lose Origin centre as rival clubs circle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brisbane Broncos<\/a> may soon face one of their toughest salary cap calls yet, with breakout centre Gehamat Shibasaki<\/a> reportedly attracting strong rival interest as contract uncertainty grows around his future at Red Hill.<\/p>\n

After returning to the NRL<\/a> through a train-and-trial opportunity last season, Shibasaki became one of the competition’s biggest success stories in 2025, transforming from a player outside the full-time system into an Origin and Kangaroos representative in less than 12 months.<\/p>\n

Despite interest from rival clubs, Shibasaki has made it clear where his preference lies.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I really like the club, and I want to stay here,\u201d he told the Courier Mail.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am leaving it to my manager to sort out that stuff.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou take me back two years ago, I wasn’t even playing NRL<\/a>, I was just working, I had a job, so I am grateful to be here at the Broncos.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is I’m happy here. They have done a lot for me, and (Michael Maguire<\/a>) always says if I focus on the good habits and stay in the moment, then everything else will work itself out.”<\/p>\n

However, keeping the rising star may not be straightforward.<\/p>\n

According to the Courier Mail, four NRL<\/a> clubs are prepared to offer Shibasaki significantly more than what Brisbane currently has on the table, with the centre understood to be capable of earning north of $500,000 annually on the open market.<\/p>\n

The potential pay rise would mark a staggering turnaround for the 26-year-old, who is reportedly earning around $160,000 this season after initially joining the club on a train-and-trial contract.<\/p>\n

Brisbane is believed to be keen to retain Shibasaki, but the club’s current salary cap situation could force some difficult decisions.<\/p>\n

With the Broncos already committing to major roster moves, including the arrivals of Mitch Barnett<\/a> and Jonah Pezet<\/a> in 2027, and recent re-signings for Cory Paix<\/a> and Phillip Coates<\/a>, there may be limited room to substantially increase their offer.<\/p>\n

Coach Maguire<\/a> has been full of praise for Shibasaki’s development throughout the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cGem’ is improving,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was at a point at the start of the season where coming back, he would have liked to have been further ahead, but I think he has found that now.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo weeks ago, playing against the Dogs, he had a fair opponent there (skipper Stephen Crichton<\/a>), and he excelled in that game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Gem has been fantastic for us. His leadership and his understanding of what he has been doing have been good for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would always push for my players to play Origin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shibasaki’s situation is just one of several contract calls looming for Brisbane, with experienced stars and depth players including Ben Hunt<\/a>, Billy Walters<\/a>, Tom Duffy<\/a>, Jack Gosiewski<\/a>, Delouise Hoeter<\/a>, Jaiyden Hunt<\/a>, and Josh Rogers<\/a> also off contract at the season’s end.<\/p>\n

And while Brisbane may want to keep one of the NRL’s most improved players, the coming months could determine whether sentiment outweighs salary cap reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brisbane Broncos may soon face one of their toughest salary cap calls yet, with breakout centre Gehamat…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-419157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}