Brisbane are expected to ramp up their retention bid for young half Tom Dearden in coming days as coach Kevin Walters admits Anthony Milford's first reserve-grade outing "wasn't up to standard".
NRL.com understands Dearden's future will be broached by Broncos officials once Friday's clash with Parramatta in Darwin is out of the way.
The Top End trip will pit 20-year-old – long rated the Broncos' best halfback prospect since club icon Allan Langer – up against Mitchell Moses after North Queensland tabled a three-year offer to Dearden to join Chad Townsend at their scrumbase next season.
Coach Kevin Walters denied reports Brisbane are keeping Moses in their sights as he works through his own contract talks with the Eels, insisting "we are not looking outside the [Broncos] circle" for prospective halves, though he was less dismissive of the club's interest in veteran South Sydney half Adam Reynolds.
His assessment of Milford's first game for Souths Logan since being axed for the first time in his nine-year NRL career though will raise eyebrows.
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The recipient of the most lucrative contract in in Brisbane's history, Milford's fight for his playing future did not get off on the right note, according to Walters.
Milford contributed seven runs for 85 metres, three tackle busts, 10 tackles with one miss and only two kicks in a 39-22 Magpies loss to Norths Devils.
"Last week it was a tough game. I was out at Souths and watched it … if I was to be honest, no he sort of wasn’t up to the standard that we believe he can play at," Walters said of last week's wet-weather affair.
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"But that’s one game of four or five, how many it takes for him to get back to the football we know he can play.
"It won’t be my decision [when Milford plays first grade again], it will be Anthony’s decision as to whether he makes his way back into the team or not.
"He has been given some clear instructions about what he needs to do. When he does that, he will be back into the side.
"He needs to continue to do what Milf can do well and that’s the points I made about ends of sets, his running game and defence.
"That’s what Milf is working on to get back into the side."
Dearden and halves partner Brodie Croft meanwhile impressed as a combination in what is hoped to be a tide-turning performance against Penrith last week.
Facing an increasingly confident Cowboys bid to lure the Mackay junior north next year, Walters insisted Dearden knows how valued he is at the Broncos alongside fellow retention priorities Kotoni Staggs and Xavier Coates.
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"We don’t anticipate losing Tom, he has been a good player for us in our systems and he's still learning the game," Walters said.
"He is part of our systems so at this stage we are not looking outside the circle [for prospective halves].
"We have been through everything with Tommy, Tommy has a nice clear picture in his head about his job in the side and we are confident he can do that job us tomorrow night and moving forward as well."
Walters expects the club to push ahead with its retention bid for Staggs. He said the Broncos were co-operating with an NRL Integrity Unit's investigation into Staggs concerning alleged behaviour at a venue in Brisbane earlier this month.
Staggs, who began running again this week as he nears a return from his ACL rupture, has been a retention priority for the Broncos for several months in the face of lucrative offers tabled by the Gold Coast and Parramatta.
The Titans are understood to have pulled out of the race for Staggs's services in recent days.
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"I expect [negotiations will be finalised] so in the next week or two ... I won't say it has been ongoing but it is a big decision for Kotoni and the Broncos as well as whether he stays or goes but I'm very confident we will hang on to Kotoni, I can see him wearing a Broncos jersey next year," Walters said.
Titans coach Justin Holbrook said he was unsure of the club's stance on Staggs as a recruitment target on Thursday, but said he had always expected the 22-year-old to remain at Red Hill.
"I thought he would stay at Brisbane. That was my gut feel on it all," Holbrook said.
"But I don’t know for sure. I don’t really know where it sits, I thought we were interested in him but we have a meeting this afternoon around the recruitment stuff."
