Tyrone Peachey fears being squeezed out of the Gold Coast with the utility yet to hear from the club as the Titans prepare to make a play for Broncos five-eighth Anthony Milford.
Peachey is one of several high-profile Titans yet to be told if they’re wanted by the club, with playmaker Ash Taylor, co-captain Kevin Proctor and hooker Mitch Rein also sweating on new deals or contract activations that would secure their futures.
The Titans had interest in Broncos duo Kotoni Staggs and Xavier Coates before they signed new contracts, but it is their latest enquiries about Milford on a cut-price deal that will have ramifications on the Gold Coast.
At just 29 Peachey feels he has many more years left in the game and despite a rocky start to his Titans career - he tried to get a release on his three-year deal before moving from Penrith - he has finally settled on the Coast and become one of their better performers in 2021.
He wants to stay but the silence from head office is concerning and Peachey accepts he could be on the move by the end of the year.
“I haven’t heard nothing from the Gold Coast,” Peachey told NRL.com
“It’s something that is obviously in the back of my mind, I’ve never been in this position before.
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“I obviously do want to play on, I love my footy at the moment and feel like I’ve still got plenty of footy left in me.
“I’ve kind of found my position for the first time since I think I’ve been in the NRL and I’m really enjoying myself at lock. I feel like I am only growing and getting better.
“Jimmy Dymock (assistant coach) has helped me out a lot with my defence and yeah I obviously do want to play on but the club hasn’t said anything to me yet and I don’t know what’s going to happen there.
“I would love to stay and the club is in such a good position but I understand if they want to look elsewhere and they have other priorities. Hopefully I get it sorted sooner rather than later.
“If they can’t fit me in (under the salary cap) I would love to go to another competitive team and try to win a premiership.”
Broncos coach Kevin Walters has baulked at offering Milford a new deal all season with his primary focus finding a halfback which he secured on Thursday when South Sydney skipper Adam Reynolds agreed to a three-year deal.
While Staggs and Reynolds are expected to fill the halves next season, Walters initially bristled at questions over Milford’s future on Thursday before finally conceding his form had improved and a deal could still be done to keep him in Brisbane.
“I’m not going to talk about Milford anymore,” said Walters.
“That’s something we will look at down the track.
“We want Milf to be Milf. I say it every week. If he can be the player that he wants to be, there will be a position at the club for him.”
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The Dragons, who have signed former Broncos veterans Andrew McCullough, Josh McGuire to go with Corey Norman who also played under coach Anthony Griffin at Brisbane, have not formally discussed the prospect of recruiting Milford and have no plan to make any approach at this stage.
Gold Coast have an option in their favour to activate another year on Proctor’s contract, but the co-captain has yet to be informed if that deal will be taken up and it’s more likely he will need to renegotiate a contract on lesser terms.
Proctor, 32, has barely missed a game through injury in recent seasons and is confident his body can sustain more seasons in the NRL, ideally with the Gold Coast.
“I love this group, the body is feeling good and it’s good to be around everyone as well,” Proctor said.
“We’ve got a good bunch of guys and I’m really enjoying myself. I’m hoping to stay on board but we will see what happens.
“I’m not really fussed on it to be honest, I’m just trying to get my footy right and then hopefully that will do the talking for me.”
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