Despite clearing forwards Matt Lodge and Tevita Pangai Jr from their roster this season, the Brisbane Broncos are still tied to the pair financially.
In a report from NRL.com's Dan Walsh, the Red Hill side are in an awkward position where they are contractually obliged to pay the departed duo to play for other clubs over the next few seasons.
According to Walsh, the Broncos are set to spend upwards of $1 million on both Lodge and Pangai Jr, even though they will no longer line up for the beleaguered club.
It has been suggested that the former powerhouse will commit to paying a figure in the vicinity of $250,000 for Penrith and Canterbury to enjoy the services of Pangai Jr, whilst also sending nearly $1 million to the New Zealand Warriors over the course of the next three-years for Lodge to ply his trade with the Mount Smart side.
These moves have been compounded by the fact that the Broncos have also had to shell out for Andrew McCullough and Jack Bird to trade Suncorp Stadium for Kogarah earlier this season.
Irrespective of these financial uppercuts, Brisbane have made it known that the move to ship the pair out of Queensland will actually see their salary cup position improve.
When speaking to Walsh, Broncos Football and Performance Director, Ben Ikin explained the lay of the land.
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"There's been examples here in the past where players playing at other clubs still have had payouts from the Broncos, everybody knows that is the case for us heading into next year," Ikin said.
"But that's just something you need to manage and to be fair, if you ring around you'll find it's not that uncommon across the game.
"Even after some of the churn we've had in the roster and the press around some of the players that have moved on - Lodge, Pangai, [Anthony] Milford - we're also bringing in Adam Reynolds and Kurt Capewell.
"So we've got some money left there [for 2022] but we'll be very patient with it."
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In an effort to replace the departing pair of big men, Brisbane have reportedly begun scouting 'cut priced' options to fill the vacant slots that currently require filling in the middle of the park.
Within his report, Walsh suggested that Dunamis Lui and Aaron Woods could be brought north of the border. Ryan James' name was also raised as one of interest by Ikin.
"We've got our list of different players that are off-contract and Ryan ticks a lot of boxes," he said.
"He'll remain on the list, he hasn't been struck off. And then if we think he'd be a valuable addition based on other things that happen in the coming weeks then we start the conversation but that's all it is at the moment."
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Ikin continued by outlining his desire to place hardened veterans around the club's already committed youth.
"We're interested in seasoned players. We're trying to get the right amount of experience around some of these great young players we've got," he explained.
"We're balancing what we think we need from outside and then what we've already got in our system.
"Particularly the young guys and making an educated guess on how quickly they're going to develop.
"When you strengthen the senior part of your squad, through players like Reynolds and Capewell, the environment those young guys are in can have them learning quicker and fast-tracking that process."
Ikin will have until August 1 to complete the club's roster.
