Broncos centre on outer

Croft move comes at cost

RUGBY LEAGUE: Brodie Croft has been officially released by Melbourne to join the Broncos, but a twist in the saga has clouded the future of Brisbane centre Gehamat Shibasaki.

Shibasaki may have to leave the Broncos immediately to allow Brisbane to fit Croft into their top 30 roster.

Croft was released by the Storm from his 2020 contract yesterday morning along with Melbourne teammate Curtis Scott, who has signed a fouryear deal with Canberra.

The Raiders announced the signing of Scott at the same time as Melbourne confirmed his release, but the Broncos held off on confirming they had secured Croft.

Shibasaki, 21, played 12 NRL games for the Broncos in 2019, including Brisbane’s disastrous 58-0 finals loss to Parramatta.

But he is now fighting for his future at Red Hill as the Broncos look to bolster their playmaking stocks with Croft.

Shibasaki is understood to be reluctant to leave the Broncos, with Newcastle looming as a possible new home for the Townsville junior.

The Broncos are planning to unveil Croft at Red Hill on Monday when the entire squad fronts for preseason training.

Meanwhile, the Storm has quashed speculation linking Josh Addo-Carr to an early release, confirming he’ll play in purple and gold in the 2020 season.

Addo-Carr was reportedly seeking a move away from Melbourne to be closer to his family in Sydney.

But club boss Dave Donaghy broke his silence yesterday to make it clear AddoCarr, contracted to the Storm through 2021, was going nowhere.

“We don’t respond a lot to external noise but given there is quite a bit of commentary at the moment I thought I’d clear that up,” Donaghy said.

“Where the talk is coming from I’m not sure, but I can say, hand on heart, Josh is committed to Storm as much as we’re committed to Josh.”

Addo-Carr had been linked with Wests Tigers following the revelation on Thursday that they had ended their formal pursuit of Roosters star Latrell Mitchell.

The Tigers sensationally pulled a $3.8 million offer to Mitchell after he rejected an invitation to meet coach Michael Maguire and his coaching staff on Thursday.

Mitchell has since hinted he could remain with the Roosters for the 2020 season.

It is understood Mitchell spoke to family and friends this week about seeing out his contract with the reigning premiers – even if it means playing reserve grade for $800,000.