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Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett let the cat out of the bag that the club missed out on signing Broncos young gun Brendan Piakura, but it was news to Kevin Walters.
The two clubs have been locked in a battle for Piakura’s signature, but Barrett let slip the Bulldogs had missed out on luring him to Belmore after his side’s 24-0 loss on Saturday.
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“Yeah I think he is going to stay at Brisbane,” Barrett said in his press conference.
“It did (look like we had him) and he is a really good young player Brendan and a good young kid, and I wish him all the best.
“We are disappointed, but he will stay here (at Red Hill).
“He’s athletic and big and can do everything. He’s from a lovely family Brendan and they’ve got themselves a good player.”
However, Walters seemed mystified when he was congratulated on securing Piakura’s signature.
“Trent Barrett just said you have kept Piakura, which is huge news for the club that he will be staying here at the Broncos,” NRL reporter Peter Badel asked Walters.
A confused Walters replied: “I am sort of not aware of that mate.
“Well I won’t make any comment on that Pete. I don’t know so until we hear that from Brendan, I won’t make any comment.
“I said last week we are confident and we would like to keep all our players.
“We were disappointed to lose Reece. We’ve still got four or five players that we need to hold onto. We will get there.”
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Fox League’s James Hooper reported the Bulldogs were closing in on the teenager’s signature, but in a bid to stop the mass exodus of young talent, Walters made an offer of $1.2 million over three years.
The Broncos’ offer is $300,000 for 2022, $400,000 for 2023 and $500,000 for 2024.
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