{"id":19391,"date":"2026-05-27T07:44:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T07:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/19391\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T07:44:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T07:44:18","slug":"broncos-star-linked-with-switch-to-melbourne-storm-after-300000-contract-offer-falls-short","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/19391\/","title":{"rendered":"Broncos star linked with switch to Melbourne Storm after $300,000 contract offer falls short"},"content":{"rendered":"

Craig Bellamy\u2019s Melbourne Storm<\/a> are reportedly one of four rival clubs looking to potentially take advantage of Gehamat Shibasaki<\/a>\u2019s contract stand-off at the Broncos. The 28-year-old is locked in discussions with Brisbane about a new deal for 2027 and beyond, and is seeking a significant upgrade on his current salary.<\/p>\n

But the NRL<\/a> premiers and the centre appear to be a long way apart in their valuations, with Shibasaki hoping to earn upwards of $600,000 a season on any new deal. According to Brisbane-based league reporter Peter Badel, the Broncos are only prepared to offer the Maroons and Kangaroos Test star $300,000 a season, amid salary cap pressures at the club.<\/p>\n

\"Pictured<\/p>\n

Craig Bellamy’s (L) Storm are reportedly one of the clubs interested in taking advantage of Gehamat Shibasaki\u2019s (bottom right) contract stand-off at the Broncos. Pic: Getty<\/p>\n

(Getty)<\/p>\n

Shibasaki was one of the NRL’s fairytale stories of 2025 after starting the season on a train-and-trial deal with the Broncos before earning an Origin call-up with Billy Slater’s Maroons. He started at centre in the Game 3 decider and helped Queensland clinch the series, before winning the grand final with Brisbane and then earning a Test call-up with the Kangaroos for their Ashes clean sweep.<\/p>\n

However, Shibasaki is only on around $160,000 a season which is a remarkably low figure for any rep player in the NRL. And the 28-year-old – who is currently in camp with the Maroons after being selected in Slater’s 20-man Origin squad – admitted earlier this week that he could be forced to leave Brisbane if the club are unable to improve their offer.<\/p>\n

Gehamat Shibasaki\u2019s contract stand-off alerts rivals<\/p>\n

The situation has left rival clubs on high alert, with the Storm among those linked with a move for Shibasaki. The Perth Bears and PNG Chiefs are said to be in the mix as well, with Badel suggesting a fourth club is also exploring a deal for the rep centre, who would almost certainly be able to command a bigger salary elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wants a big bump up. He deserves one and there are four clubs sniffing around him,\u201d Badel told NRL 360. \u201cI\u2019m told Melbourne showed a bit of interest a couple of months ago (and) they\u2019re watching his circumstances closely.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Broncos have made an offer. I\u2019m told it\u2019s not quite palatable to Shibasaki at the moment, so unless they up the ante Shibasaki may be on the way out. His preference is to stay but money may be the ultimate determinant. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if he leaves the Broncos at the end of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Seen<\/p>\n

Gehamat Shibasaki is open to a move away from the Broncos if he can’t agree a new deal to remain at the club. Pic: Getty<\/p>\n

(Chris Hyde via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Shibasaki’s form has been patchy this year, and some questionable defence saw him dropped by Maguire<\/a> after Brisbane lost their opening two games of the season. He’s since regained his starting spot at Brisbane, with a return to form earning Shibasaki another Origin call-up.<\/p>\n

And while the 28-year-old’s preference is to remain at the Broncos, Shibasaki says he\u2019s \u201copen\u201d to any move that would set up his family’s future. \u201cI haven\u2019t figured anything out yet,\u201d Shibasaki told Code Sports<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m just playing footy and trying to do what I can for the boys each week. I\u2019m a dad first, so family first. I\u2019ve got a family to look after, so that\u2019s my main priority. I\u2019d consider (leaving). I\u2019m pretty open to anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Craig Bellamy\u2019s Melbourne Storm are reportedly one of four rival clubs looking to potentially take advantage of Gehamat…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3520,99,645,18791,12298,260,1406,4147,18790],"class_list":["post-19391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-melbourne","tag-billy-slater","tag-brisbane","tag-craig-bellamy","tag-gehamat-shibasaki","tag-maroons","tag-melbourne","tag-nrl","tag-peter-badel","tag-the-broncos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}