Oates indicates he’ll stay

COREY Oates has given his strongest indication yet that he will stay with the Broncos, as the club begin negotiations to retain their star winger.

The Queensland flyer proved yet again on Thursday night why he is one of the best wingers in the competition after he scored a hat-trick to help deliver Brisbane a crucial 38-18 victory over South Sydney.

The starring performance also came at an important time for Oates, who can finally begin his negotiations for season 2019 and beyond following the end of his current management contract.

Oates’ decisions around his future have been delayed while he waited to sever ties with his manager.

He is now free to look at his options, but in a major boost for the Broncos, the in-demand Oates confirmed he wants to stay in Brisbane.

“I want to be here next year,” he said.

“Obviously I want to be here but it’s up to (the Broncos). I want to finish the year off strong … then I can go into contract negotiations happy and confident with whatever decision I make.

“It’s always important (to stay with your club). You never want to leave. But if the club doesn’t want you, you have to look elsewhere.”

Coach Wayne Bennett has previously stated the Broncos definitely want Oates to stay at Red Hill, but has admitted they are not in a position to enter into a bidding war.

Oates said however that he has not seen any formal offers from other clubs, despite reports last month he rejected a deal with the Bulldogs.

With Brisbane still fighting to cement their place in the top eight, Oates said his biggest focus for the next month was to help his team become a premiership force and he hopes the offers will follow after that.

“I just want to finish the year well,” he said.

“We have a big couple of weeks coming. (Thursday’s win) was a good step to finals and I want to keep playing good football and give them something to talk about.

“The only way I can get a contract is play good footy.