Late last week Brisbane Broncos announced that Jordan Kahu had re-signed for three more years. Kahu will be a Bronco until the end of 2020 and this follows on from Alex Glenn's re-signing until the end of 2019, as well as Kodi Nikorima opting to extend his contract until the end of 2020. Kahu's also quite the poet...

Jamayne Isaako is still without a contract for next season along with Benji Marshall. Isaako should be offered a contract as he's only impressed in brief NRL stints and demanded an NRL call up thanks to exceptional form in reserve grade for Souths Logan, while a lot will depend on what Marshall wants.

If Marshall is happy to take another small contract, Brisbane will benefit from having him offer depth and experience as they pivot towards a slightly younger group. However, if Marshall wants more dosh, well he'll be out of luck at Brisbane and will likely move abroad. Working in Marshall's favour are the off-field opportunities in Brisbane and he could very easily take another minimal contract, that could be bolstered by post-career opportunities with the Broncos or in the Brisbane media. Sam Thaiday for example slotted into a radio gig and these sorts of opportunities enabled Thaiday to leave money on the table with Brisbane, allowing the Broncos to be more flexible with their cap moving forward.

Of course, there's also the Adam Blair situation. I wrote about Blair from a Warriors perspective, so here's the Brisbane perspective:

Brisbane have allowed Blair to 'look elsewhere' despite Blair having a year left on his contract, which is probably (/definitely) thanks to other clubs offering Blair more money than he is on with Brisbane. Blair isn't the only forward Brisbane are likely to part ways with as Herman Ese'ese was signed by Newcastle Knights and I'd guarantee the Knights offered him a lot more than Brisbane would have.

Much of this is thanks to Brisbane's crop of young forwards. They have established a core group of forwards who will lead them through the next few years in Josh McGuire (2021), Matt Gillett (2020), Glenn (2019) and Thaiday's last season as a Bronco will help bridge the transitional period. The Broncos also have Korbin Sims who will enjoy a more prominent role and recently re-signed Joe Ofahengaue.

If Jack Bird is set to play lock next season - the most logical spot for him as Brisbane have the halves covered and wouldn't pay that much for a centre - then Brisbane's long-term forward pack could look like this:

McGuire, McCullough, Sims, Glenn, Gillett, Bird.

Brisbane are well equipped to fill the remaining bench spots with Ofahengaue leading the next tier, along with Brisbane's young crop; Jaydn Su'a, Tevita Pangai Jr, Andre Savelio (signed from Warrington Wolves until 2019), George Fai and Payne Haas. If Brisbane let Blair go, they will also increase their chances of re-signing Jai Arrow who is a McGuire/Corey Parker clone.

Letting Blair explore other options is a case of Brisbane giving their young forwards more responsibility and opportunity. They also had to bid farewell to Jarrod Wallace in similar fashion as Wallace got a better offer from the Titans and as Brisbane pour money into players like Bird, Milford, Nikorima, McCullough, James Roberts and Darius Boyd, they have to save money elsewhere. Wallace's departure and Blair's possible departure are consequences of money being invested elsewhere.

Kahu is crucial in all of this as he's a reliable outside back who is settled in Brisbane and owes the Broncos a fair bit as they stuck by him through repeated knee injuries. Kahu has found a his niche on the wing but can also do a job at centre and has quickly established himself as one of the slickest goal-kickers in the NRL.

This locks in a #KiwiNRL trio of Kahu, Glenn and Nikorima for the next few years with Brisbane. These three will play key roles as well with Kahu one of Bennett's favourites thanks to his reliability and versatility, while Glenn has already moved from a bench spot to starting on an edge and keeping Thaiday playing through the middle. Nikorima appears to be the long-term halves partner for Milford and Isaako is lurking in the shadows waiting to fill a centre/wing spot, even possibly a long-term fullback spot after Darius Boyd.

As Brisbane pivot to a slightly younger group, they will maintain a strong #KiwiNRL presence in influential positions. Kahu's re-signing also opens up opportunities for him to play a more prominent role in other positions, should openings arise. We've always heard how skillful Kahu is and he's capable of playing any backline position, so don't sleep on him moving away from his wing at some stage.

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