ENGLAND international Herbie Farnworth could exit the Brisbane Broncos at the end of the 2023 NRL season.
Officially a free agent at the end of the season, Farnworth only signed a one-year deal with the Red Hill club last year.
The England man has not hidden his desire to play fullback, but the recent recruitment of Reece Walsh from the New Zealand Warriors as well as the desire by Selwyn Cobbo to take the number one shirt himself has meant that Farnworth has almost been pushed out of the reckoning.
He had been attracting interest from the Dolphins and the Sydney Roosters prior to signing his one-year deal at Brisbane and it’s likely that both clubs will come back into contention though the situation surrounding his desire to play fullback may hinder a deal with the Chooks.
With Joseph Suaalii already putting pressure on James Tedesco for the number one shirt and Joey Manu wanting to nail down a fullback spot, Farnworth would not take the fullback jersey with the Roosters either.
That being said, the Dolphins would take another look at him, with head coach Wayne Bennett confirming at the end of 2022 that he would still be intereated.
“Herbie only signed for one year, so we’re definitely interested,” Bennett said.
“I was interested in him last year and our interest is still there.
“I’m not going to talk about positions with Herbie, but the bottom line is he is back on the market and we’re still very keen on him.
“We had a talk to him last year and he wanted to stay at the Broncos, which he did, that’s fine, but he is a free agent again.
“I’m still interested in signing Herbie, so we’d like to have a chat again.”
Former North Queensland Cowboys flyer Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and ex-Brisbane Broncos stars Jamayne Isaako and Tesi Niu are now at the Dolphins but that wouldn’t be enough to stop Bennett going after Farnworth.
The Newcastle Knights could also do with a number one following the decision to move Kalyn Ponga into the halves, whilst there have been question marks over the future of Wests Tigers’ number one Daine Laurie.
