Manly alone at top of NRL ladder

Yep Muzz, by the time this is all done and dusted Manly are going to be left with plenty of money in the kitty to invest in its local talent. Littlejohn from Wagga will run rings around the Chooks. If Manly had their man...if DCE was a committed Manly man....he'd be in the bag already. The last thing the Sea Eagles need is more uncertainty fuelling rumours of discontent amongst the troops...if they could of signed him they would have by now...problems with the payments in his existing contract have no doubt been noted. DCE to Brisbane is a done deal.

V.O.R, 1 Hoffman/Boyd 6 Milford 7 Hunt 9 McCullough That's not bad......Barber moved on. DCE will stay with Manly.The club have already shown that their priorities lie with the halves by off-loading G Stewart and were aware they'd be rocking the boat.They may lose Matai, and Choc though.

And Barba, Hoffman, and most likely Bennett's pride and joy Boyd.... That's a lot of top shelf players in the backline signed for 2016. As I said the days of under the table payments went down in West Africa many years ago. And with a current salary cap investigation pending, the Broncos might have to tighten the purse strings for a little while atleast. But all good. DCE will just have to be content with building his own dynasty with his halves partner Foran. With one premiership and two grand finals already together, and a great chance for another this year, they could be spoken about in years to come like Stuart/Daley and Langer/Walters.

Muzz, Broncs have already sounded DCE out through several avenues. The Broncs are not mucking about...as is clear by the recent appointment of Bennett. What we are looking at here is the attempt to put in place a dynasty. DCE is a QLD'er.....he will be offered the throne with Lockyer as mentor. Rival clubs are not just competing for a signature in this circumstance...the dynamics here are different. "As the number 1 son and future media darling of QLD (traditionally awarded to the Captain and key playmaker of the Broncos) DCE will put himself in the best position to obtain rugby league Immortality. As an extremely focus oriented individual he will no doubt understand what a move to Brisbane means for his legacy." DCE and Hunt will be the Broncos halves in 2016. Milford will be fullback, McCullough at rake. It is scary to think what such a spine will be capable of. The QLD team origin will also ultimately be the beneficiary of this combination. There is more going on here behind closed doors than what first meets the eye.

I agree with JH, Hunt is the real deal and under Bennett he will only get better.That line break he made V Panthers then the off-load to Hodgo was shear class. imo Bronx will not make a move for DCE, They will spend that money elsewhere, perhaps on a strike centre or a ballplaying edge forward or maybe Izzy. VOR - Some nice pot stirring, maaaaaaaaaaaaate.

This is nothing more than a paper seller in a slow news fortnight, I'm going to laugh so hard when the bronco's resign Boyd !

Ej...it's admirable that you still place value in loyalty in this modern era of professional sport. When discussing deals in the millions of dollars, well.... reality on the ground is something quite different. Loyalty is a two way street. Clubs are selective with where they place their loyalty..understandably selective to meet their own ends...as a result any talk of loyalty is ultimately hollow. Onto the bottom line...it will be interesting to see what comes of the current investigation surrounding the Broncos salary cap. For what they are getting with Milford they well and truly paid unders. Barba is under performing but was a steal. The Broncs have an outright advantage with negotiating into the future with the Baby Broncos..Hunt, Oates, Copely etc. Either Hodges or Parker or both will free up salary cap making way for DCE in 2016. Broncos are unique in their capacity to attract QLD stock due to the players natural desire to represent their roots and at the same time be based around family. This is no doubt an advantage. The Broncos also have developed a lot of their own young talent which situates them nicely when dealing with salary cap pressures.

EJ, I think with Bennett back they will see a lot of sponsors come back into the fold and offer legitimate (by NRL standards) 3rd party deals to top players. Something Manly can't offer to the same level. Also the salary cap breaches surely had to be because it was being poorly managed by Andrew Gee. How else could a moderate performing team have been $500K over the cap over 3 years? They certainly weren't paying any unplanned premiership bonuses. Griffin was coach of the U20s when DCE was overlooked for Hunt and Jordan Kahu. I think Griffin going is a plus for Brisbane when trying to sign DCE. That said, I wish we had a second NRL team in Brisbane so DCE and others were picked up locally in the first place and we weren't talking about good players going to the Broncos. They don't deserve a second grab at them.

If Manly are willing to pay $1m per season, then I imagine the other offers to uproot him from the northern beaches would have to be $1.2m+. Now I know the salary cap didn't use to apply to the Broncos when Talbot paid players with under the table appearance fees, but those times have changed. I will be watching closely to see how their current cap scandal plays out. Although it certainly pays to have NewsCorp on your side to keep it out of the press. And I know that Daly's father is close to the Broncos. Although that didn't help when he offered Daly's services multiple times only to be told that the only reason he looked good in the NYC was because of Foran. Thank god Manly took the punt on him. Let's see what kind of a man he is in repaying the faith.

The Dragons are still a work in progress, winning and losing a few each way . Their chance of being in the top eight are very slim. It would be great to have Brett Stewart, Watmough and Matai with the Dragons if they are unhappy with Manly. A rumour now but nice to dream the imposible. Imagine that as a backline - Stewart, Nightingale, Morris, Dugan, Matai, Widdop and Marshall.

Wasn't hook the reason for him maybe going there? Besides he can play many a position just not fullback so I think the Bronco's won't bother chasing!!!

I think it is naive to think that purchasing a house and unsubstantiated rumours about his wife wanting to stay in Sydney are any guide to prove DCE will be staying at Manly. Only a few months ago every man and his dog had Cameron Smith moving to Brisbane because his wife supposedly wanted to move back "home" and was laying down the law. Plus he was offered massive bucks by the Broncos. Well, how did that turn out? I'd say there is a pretty good chance DCE will shift to Brisbane and play 5/8. It is going to be tough for Manly to hold Foran, DCE, Stewart, Watmough etc etc and if it comes down to choosing between the halves I would stick with Foran. Great player and you only lose him for 1 rep game in the regular season.

JH spot on once again...the Broncos will most definitely not let Hunt walk..this is how I see it playing out. Bennett will provide Hunt with the incentive to look long term...weighing up how a halves pairing with DCE (yes..DCE to own the revered 5/8 captain position at the Broncs) and potential NRL premiership glory may shape his career far more lucratively than a short term cash grab from a rival club. Milford will play at fullback. Barba will have one year left on his existing contract. DCE and Hunt likely to be QLD origin halves in time.

Ej, I know it's tough to hear mate but this speculation is far from stirring the pot as you suggest.... the stars are aligning for DCE to take the helm at the Donks. The fairytale is taking shape. First Wayne, then his protégé...all backed by NewsCorp. I'm not saying it's fair. While you place emphasis on the influence of his wife you should not rule out the close ties that Dale's father has with the Brisbane team. DCE will be returning home..guaranteed.

VOR stirring the pot as usual. Over the top rhetoric about what it means to be a Bronco this time. It's usually a QLDer. But just as pathetic. Sorry but the days of the Broncos luring big names went down in a plane over West Africa in 2010. Manly have cleared the decks to put up a $1m+ offer per season for DCE. The kid has class and will know that Manly gave him his shot in the NYC and then NRL, have given him the best one-on-one coaching with Joey Johns. They have made the man. And I think his wife will have plenty of say.

Agree VOR, Its strange though. The first half of the season he was on fire in defence, than Ma'u goes down injured and Norman has become a liability. Really goes to show how much you miss a player when they are out. Also Jackson I rate Hunt, but not sure he has enough experience in closing out the close matchesr. Broncos really need a playmaker to win the close ones. I think Hunt could become that player but this year they just haven't been able to do that.

Might be a bit unpopular, but if this season is anything to go by, I think the Broncos would actually be better sticking with Hunt. This guy is the real deal – you can quote stats all you want (and his are better than Cherry’s in a number of key areas…despite being lower-placed on the ladder), but what this guy does on the field is something you rarely see in a lot of players. In my opinion, his “field sense” is the best out of all the current players – including Cronk and Thurston. He just seems to know exactly what the defensive line will do and how certain defenders will react in certain situations. It’s something that’s very…very…hard to teach. And I think its the driving force behind him being a real shot at the Dally M this year. Although I wonder if being from the Broncos might work against him. I think some Brisbane fans are right on the money with this – it’s hard to argue it’s merely coincidence that a Bronco has only won it once (Langer), despite the Broncos probably being the most successful club of the modern era.

True...he's got raw ability but they really need to work on his defense.

I very much doubt he will stay at Manly. I know players float themselves on the market to inflate their price but given he has put negotiations on hold at Manly it smells like he wants out.

Agree VOR. But Parra pays overs for everyone. Sort of resigned to that. But given he is only 23 and first year out of the Broncos in a side that has been woeful over the last 5 years I wouldn't write him off yet.