Australian rugby is staring down the barrel of a costly defection, with the PNG Chiefs setting their sights firmly on 19-year-old Reds sensation Treyvon Pritchard, and they want his older brother, too.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the NRL's 19th team held talks with both Pritchard brothers in Brisbane on Tuesday, pitching Treyvon and 21-year-old Brumbies centre Kadin on becoming two of the foundation pieces of the Chiefs' inaugural 2028 roster.

It's a calculated move by the club. With the bulk of the NRL player market locked away until November 1, when players off-contract in 2027 can begin negotiating with rival clubs, the Chiefs have turned their gaze toward rugby union, where no such embargo exists.

Treyvon has been compared to Newcastle Knights superstar Kalyn Ponga, who walked the same corridors at Anglican Church Grammar School in Brisbane eleven years prior.

He debuted for the Reds in a friendly last year while sitting his year 12 exams, and was fast-tracked straight into Queensland's senior setup this season, and made his Super Rugby Pacific bow in March.

Some pundits have already floated his name as a Wallabies bolter for this year.

Incoming Wallabies coach Les Kiss, who has carefully managed Pritchard's introduction, starting him from the bench in all but one game, has made no secret of his admiration this year.

"Treyvon is very savvy. He is no one-trick pony," Kiss said earlier this year.

"He is a beautifully balanced young player. Very quick, smart and confident. He can kick off both feet, step off both feet, and his speed off the mark is brilliant.

"He has the one thing you can't coach, and that's speed."

With the 2027 Rugby World Cup on home soil looming, the clock is ticking on both sides.

The NRL's interest in Pritchard is nothing new, with Queensland clubs having already been sniffing around him for years.

With dazzling highlight reels from school rugby and his starring turns for Australian Under-18s sides in both XVs and sevens, he torched New Zealand's under-18s twice last year, winning 81-48 in Canberra and 55-33 in the second Test.

Pritchard can play fullback, wing and centre, and did so at a level that had scouts reaching for their phones.

Treyvon played rugby league until he was 15 years old, and made the switch to Union because of his love for the Reds.

The Chiefs are dangling a $300,000 tax-free PNG salary that would land roughly the same take-home pay as a $500,000 rugby contract.