Brisbane Broncos veteran forward Martin Taupau will reportedly be forced to find a new home in 2025 if he wishes to continue his NRL career.
The former Manly Sea Eagles' player, now 34 years of age, joined the Broncos ahead of the 2023 season. Despite playing 20 games last season for the Red Hill-based club, he has made just three appearances so far in 2024.
Taupau is off-contract at the end of the campaign.
His bump down the pecking order in Kevin Walters' side comes despite the pre-season loss of Thomas Flegler, but also amid the club's youngsters beginning to push their way into first-grade.
That, combined with the excellent form of the likes of Corey Jensen has all but sealed Taupau's fate, with News Corp reporting the club's strained salary cap will be the chief cause of his exit at the end of the season.
The Broncos have already locked in long-term, big-money deals for key forwards Patrick Carrigan and Payne Haas, while they are expected to soon confirm the long-term upgrade of Reece Walsh on more than a million dollars per season and have also upgraded the likes of Ezra Mam and Selwyn Cobbo in recent times.
Walsh's new deal will make him the second player at the club to clear seven figures alongside Haas.
The prop, who is a former Kiwi Test player and has 246 NRL games to his name would bring experience with him wherever he goes, but it remains unclear at this stage whether any club in the NRL will make an approach for the forward.
It's believed his contract would be on the lower end of the monetary scale, potentially raising more eyebrows in the direction of the Broncos over the state of their own salary cap.
English clubs could also come knocking for Taupau's experience and aggression as he hits the twilight of his career.
