Young Brisbane Broncos forward Brendan Piakura has confirmed his future, signing a new deal with the club that will lock him down until the end of 2027.
Already contracted for 2024, Piakura's new deal is a three-year extension and upgrade to remain part of Kevin Walters' squad at Red Hill.
Widely rated as one of the best young forwards in the game, Piakura debuted for the Broncos in 2021 with one game, but only added a single match in 2022 as injuries hampered his progress.
2023 was looking to be more of the same for the 21-year-old, however, he was eventually called into the first-grade squad in Round 13 against the New Zealand Warriors and went on to make 13 appearances, including starting on five occasions.
He played just 20 minutes against the Penrith Panthers in the grand final and had limited involvement during Brisbane's finals series, but will aim to have an increased role in 2024 as Kurt Capewell possibly prepares to hand over the reigns of a starting spot to the youngster.
A graduate of the Broncos' academy, coach Walters said Piakura started to show what he is capable of during 2024.
โWe saw Brendan step up last season and start to show what he's capable of, which is some really exciting footy,โ Walters said.
โHe is another graduate from our Broncos Academy who loves the club โ he feels right at home here and wants to play his role for the team.
โIt's great for the Broncos that he has chosen to stay and we're looking forward to him continuing to work hard and keep on developing.โ
The forward, who scored two tries in his 13 NRL appearances in 2023, ran for an average of 72 metres per game, but it was Round 23 against the North Queensland Cowboys where he was at his damaging best, running for 165 metres and adding a pair of line breaks, as well as an offload.
There have been some defensive issues for Piakura, who only tackled at 84 per cent in 2024, which is well below the average of other edge forwards.
However, it's hoped they will be fixed with age and experience, as well as an increased role that he may be likely to see throughout 2024 and into the coming years.
The New Zealand-born forward who has three Tests under his belt for the Cook Islands and is a former Australian Schoolboys and Queensland under-18 representative joins a host of players including Payne Haas, Patrick Carrigan, Reece Walsh, Kotoni Staggs, Selwyn Cobbo, Kobe Hetherington, Jesse Arthars, Corey Jensen, Deine Mariner, Xavier Willison, Tristan Sailor and Blake Mozer to have their futures locked away with the Broncos until at least the end of 2025.
