Ofahengaue set for new three-year deal with Brisbane
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Rising prop Joe Ofahengaue is set to re-sign with Brisbane on a three-year deal, delivering coach Anthony Seibold a rare highlight in his toughest week yet at Red Hill.
NRL.com understands Ofahengaue and his management are in the final stages of negotiating a deal that will tie the 23-year-old prop up until the end of 2022.
It's welcome news for the battling Queensland heavyweights, who travel home on Friday having been trounced 38-6 by South Sydney in their first clash with ex-coach Wayne Bennett since he was sacked by the Broncos.
The club is yet to make an official announcement on Ofahengaue's contract.
Ofahengaue's imminent re-signing comes in the same week Kodi Nikorima farewells the club, with official confirmation of his switch to the Warriors on a three-and-a-half year deal coming on Friday.
Nikorima will make the move to New Zealand over the weekend, with an eye to being available for their Magic Round clash with the Dragons, ironically at his old Suncorp Stadium stomping ground.
Ofahengaue has played 77 games in maroon and gold since debuting for the club in 2015, enjoying a breakout season last year that has put him in the frame for a Queensland Origin debut.
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He was invited into Kevin Walters camp last year before Origin I, though Brisbane's dismal start to 2019 won't help his claims against the likes of fellow bench contenders Christian Welch, Jarrod Wallace, Dylan Napa and veteran Matt Scott.
While Ofahengaue will be a Bronco for the long term, Seibold has also been forced to issue a hands-off edict to rival clubs amid several media reports that James Roberts wants to link with Bennett again at Redfern.
Roberts is contracted to Brisbane until the end of 2022 and politely declined to clear the air over his future after the loss to the Rabbitohs.
"I'm not here to talk about off-field stuff," Roberts told NRL.com.
The NSW Origin speedster has battled an Achilles issue for the best part of a year and concedes the injury is something that will require managing again throughout the 2019 season.
"I'm alright, I take it day by day and I'm trying to get it right before each game, it felt alright today," Roberts said.
"I trained through the week with it, it does sometimes mean I've got a different warm up or do different sessions [to the team] but that's just how I manage it and it depends how I feel, but it's OK at the moment."
