Lurking in the shadows as one of the more intriguing storylines to follow throughout this NRL season has and will continue to be the uncertain future of Kodi Nikorima. The young kiwi utility has been coming off the bench nicely for Brisbane Broncos but is also coming off contract and is attracting interest, along with greater opportunities elsewhere. Somehow, Kodi's younger brother Jayden (who is an Aussie) has seen his possible future become tangled with the future of Kodi.

The hottest rumour at the moment is that Kodi is being head-hunted by Melbourne, this is countered by the general vibe that Brisbane with Wayne Bennett at their helm don't miss their targets too often. The Storm do appear to be Brisbane's greatest challenger in the battle for Kodi and to be honest, either option is great for him.

Why would Kodi want to leave Brisbane? Well as is usually the case, the Storm will likely be offering Kodi more dosh than what Brisbane will offer him. This also comes with limited mid-term future prospects for Kodi in Brisbane as Andrew McCullough will hold down the starting dummy half position for as long as he's in Bennett's good books and Nikorima has one of the best young halves pairings in the NRL with Anthony Milford and Ben Hunt likely to be key figures in the Broncos' future.

Even the possibility of Nikorima spending some game time at fullback appears limited as Darius Boyd is holding things down there and doing a fabulous job. Jordan Kahu has had first dibs at backing Boyd up and he looks set to be the second option at fullback for the foreseeable future.

Nikorima is excellent coming off the bench as a more dynamic running threat than McCullough. This gives Brisbane a different dimension as Nikorima can be a direct replacement for McCullough, with more running from dummy half and more x-factor. Nikorima can also come on alongside McCullough with McCullough effectively playing as a forward. With McCullough out injured, Nikorima has quickly become a lot more important for Brisbane and the Broncos' trip to Auckland this weekend offered it's own funk to the Nikorima saga.

Travis Waddell was named to start at hooker but didn't make the trip, leaving many people to think that Nikorima could start at hooker. Josh McGuire ended up slotting in to that starting hooker spot as he's done numerous times throughout his impressive career while Nikorima was left to come off the bench. I really don't mind this as it keeps Nikorima doing the same job that he's done throughout his time in the NRL and while McGuire is far from being McCullough, he does a similar job in defending and distributing at a decent level.

This is where it's always tricky to try read too much into the games played by Wayne Bennett. Bennett could have started Nikorima to show him what his future in Brisbane could look like, the same could be said about keeping him in a settled role while some would see Nikorima being kept on the bench as some sort of negative. The best thing for the Broncos right now is to keep things settled, with McGuire (or Waddell) as a stop-gap selection until McCullough is back and Nikorima can continue to come off the bench and spark Brisbane's attack.

A possible move to Melbourne though is mouth-watering. In Melbourne Kodi would be able to pick the minds of Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk, depending on how Craig Bellamy would use Nikorima. There has been plenty of noise about Blake Green's possible departure as he's proven himself to be a solid half, worthy of the attention he's getting from other clubs. This would open the door for Nikorima to possibly play in the halves, running Melbourne's left edge as Green currently does.

Nikorima could slot into the same bench utility role in Melbourne, the difference being that there's a clear pathway there for him with Smith likely to retire within five years. Regardless of what position he plays, Nikorima would join three of the best players to ever play in the NRL as well as a very strong Kiwis contingent. Not only is there strength in Kiwis numbers in Melbourne, they are all dangerous attacking players and the thought of Nikorima playing with Jesse Bromwich, Kenny Bromwich, Tohu Harris, Kevin Proctor and Nelson Asofa-Solomona each week would be must-watch footy.

The addition of Nikorima would put Melbourne further into contention for another Premiership as the big three's window nears a close. They are already in contention this season with the big two, the best group of Kiwis and young talents like Cameron Munster, Jordan McLean, Suliasi Vunivalu, Dale Finucane and even younger blokes like Curtis Scott. Throw Nikorima into that group and boom, that's a scary thought.

Nikorima has stated that he'd love to stay in Brisbane long-term. Nikorima moved with his whanau from Palmerston North to Brisbane as a youngster and Brisbane is home base, so Melbourne would need to dish up a healthy offer to lure Nikorima away from a pretty settled situation in Brisbane. There's nothing wrong with Nikorima coming off the bench for Brisbane like he is at the moment, that's just another string to their bow and Nikorima would be brave to leave that situation.

As Brisbane are rumoured to be in pursuit of Jayden Nikorima to replace Kodi should he leave, there's no real dramas with regards to the Broncos. Jayden hasn't quite kicked on in the halves with the Roosters and is perhaps better suited to that bench utility role, making him the perfect like for like replacement for Kodi. Jayden is younger and is a year or two behind Kodi in the sense that he's yet to demand a better offer through his quality of play and the consistency of his play. Kodi has demanded strong offers by providing a spark off the bench for a year and a half now, Jayden is yet to start stacking those performances.

From a kiwi perspective, both the Storm and Broncos have healthy kiwi influences so either way I'm happy. In staying with Brisbane, Kodi would show loyalty to his current club and he'd be accepted a smaller role in the short-term, possibly less money, to make the most of this great Broncos team. A move to Melbourne would see Kodi move from one great club in great position, to another great club in a great position, so he can't really lose here but it's still a huge decision for a young lad.