Boyd deal on table with star in limbo
GOLD Coast coach Garth Brennan has warned the club won’t be held to ransom by Jarrod Wallace as the Titans prepare a $2.4 million contingency plan by tabling a formal deal to Canberra prop Shannon Boyd.
Wallace is testing his value on the open market, with the Queensland Origin prop having until June 30 to advise the Titans whether he will activate a 12-month option in his favour for next season.
But Brennan is adamant the Titans will not get into a bidding war for his services. While the Titans coach remains hopeful of retaining Wallace, who could fetch offers of $700,000 a season on the open market, Brennan urged the Maroons prop not to be motivated solely by money.
“If Jarrod doesn’t want to stay, then it gives an opportunity for a kid like ‘Mo’ (rookie prop Moeaki Fotuaika, who made his NRL debut last week) to jump out of the ground,” Brennan said.
“Jarrod is my preference, he is a local kid and I’d like him to stay here. But if he doesn’t want to do a new deal, I can’t sit on my hands. We can’t be guilty of what has happened here in the past.
“Local kids have put pressure on the Titans to pay more to keep them to stay.
“I want players who want to be here and want to play here.”
Brennan confirmed the Titans had tabled an offer to Boyd, which is believed to be a four-year deal worth about $600,000 annually.
It is believed Wallace’s option for next year is worth $500,000.
It means Boyd stands to earn more than Wallace in 2019 if he joins the Titans, although the Maroons prop’s salary will eventually increase under a four-year extension tabled by the Gold Coast.
Boyd and Wallace could both be on the Titans’ books next year, a scenario that Brennan insists would not put the club under salary cap pressure.
“If Shannon comes as well we could fit them both into our salary cap,” he said. “It would leave us lighter in other positions but a front row with Wallace, Boyd, Ryan James and Jai Arrow is a handy rotation.
“If I knew I would keep Jarrod, I might not have chased another prop, but it’s a double-edged sword.
“If he says ‘I’m going’, then we might miss out on a quality player like Shannon Boyd.”
JARROD IS MY PREFERENCE, HE IS A LOCAL KID AND I’D LIKE HIM TO STAY HERE. BUT IF HE DOESN’T WANT TO DO A NEW DEAL, I CAN’T SIT ON MY HANDS
GARTH BRENNAN