Gold Coast Titans star David Fifita could be set for an exit from the club at the end of the 2023 season, but he won't be heading back to the Brisbane Broncos.
That is the revelation made by director of football Ben Ikin, who has said the club are more focused on developing their own young players.
And it's hard to argue with the approach.
The Broncos have turned things around in dramatic style this year under Ikin's recruitment approach, which saw the club bring in Adam Reynolds and Kurt Capewell over the off-season.
Now sitting on the edge of the top four on the back of five straight victories, the men from Red Hill have turned around back-to-back bottom four seasons in dramatic circumstances.
Fifita, who joined the Titans ahead of the 2021 season after playing his first 44 games for the Broncos between 2018 and 2020, has struggled to find form in 2022 or live up to his million dollar per season deal.
Slated as a potential to return from injury this weekend after being named in the reserves, News Corp are reporting he would need to take an enormous pay cut to head back to his first club.
With it unlikely the Titans will retain the star second rower beyond the end of 2022, Fifita may well need to find a new club, with Ikin telling the publication that the Broncos have a focus on developing their own talent, which includes TC Robati, Jordan Riki and Brendan Piakura, who are all fighting for one spot alongside the experienced former Panther Kurt Capewell.
“At this stage we are committed to developing the players we’ve got,” Ikin said.
“While David Fifita is an enormous talent, no one can deny that, we are focused on getting the most out of the players that currently sit in our top 30.
So well stocked in the second row are Brisbane that Keenan Palasia had to shift to the middle third this season, joining a stacked rotation alongside Payne Haas, Patrick Carrigan, Corey Jensen and Thomas Flegler.
That is a move that has worked however, with Palasia among Brisbane's best during the early rounds, and now playing valuable minutes off the bench in Walters' side.
It's understood no side in the competition will pay a million dollars per season for Fifita, as he has been earning at the Titans, although it's believed the Dolphins and inaugural coach Wayne Bennett are showing interest in acquiring the barnstorming forward's services.
