Corey Oates' family admission as winger set to become first casualty of Broncos' NRL failure
The veteran winger is expected to either retire or head to another NRL club at the end of the season.
Broncos veteran Corey Oates says what he does in 2025 will come down to what is best for his family as he is set to become the first casualty of Brisbane's horror season. The Broncos winger is expected to become collateral damage as the Queensland club prepares to shake up Red Hill after a dismal NRL campaign where they failed to make finals on the back of finishing runners-up in 2023.
The 29-year-old has scored 121 tries in 215 games for the Broncos since debuting for the club in 2013 and has become a fan favourite in the decade since. But he is expected to reluctantly farewell the club this weekend after Brisbane indicated they will not give him a new deal.
An injury to Kotoni Staggs will deliver Oates what is expected to be his farewell game when the Broncos face Melbourne on Thursday night at Suncorp Stadium in their final match of the season. The veteran winger delayed contract talks until seasons end but told Brisbane's Robin & Kip on KIIS 97.3 on Tuesday that he has already been informed that he isn't in the club's future plans. "The club’s sort of, they haven’t come forward with an offer yet and they’ve said they probably won’t," Oates said.
“I’m still hopeful I can change peoples’ minds pretty easily. I’ve got to go out there and perform the way I know I can, and hopefully give me that…one more roll of the dice left and see what they can do.
"I’d love to do as much as I can for that club and be part of it. There are really good players there and it’s a really good culture in the playing group. There’s a lot of positive things ahead. It would be nice to be offered one more year with the club."
Oates, who could potentially be offered an off-field job with the Broncos for next season, said he doesn't want to play for another NRL club but admitted he has to think of his family so any offer from a rival he would seriously consider. "I’ve always said no, but you can never say no, depending on what the offer is," he said.
"It’s about the family and kids. When you’re young it’s always about you, then you get older and get married and have kids and life changes. The reason why you do life changes. The people in your life change the reason why you make your decisions. It’s not just me I’m playing for any more.”
It has been a very challenging end to Oates' Broncos career, with several injuries hampering the former Queensland Origin star's past two years. The winger produced a career-best campaign in 2022, scoring 20 tries in 22 games before injuries crippled his 2023 and 2024 seasons. Those injuries has seen him fall behind the likes of Deine Mariner, Jesse Arthars, Josiah Karapani and Cobbo in the wing pecking order and resulted in the Broncos being unwilling to extend his stay at Red Hill.
Broncos on cusp of unwanted history in horror NRL campaign
After reaching last year's NRL grand final, the Broncos have imploded this season and could finish as low as 12th on the ladder, in what would be the club's worst slide down the ladder in their history. Even if they spring an unlikely upset over the Storm at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night, the best the Broncos could likely finish is 10th as four of the teams above them play each other in the final round, and two of those teams will pick up points for a win or an extra-time draw.
The club's worst historical fall down the table was in 2020 when they secured their first wooden spoon and finished 16th. That was eight positions lower than where they ended the 2019 season. This season they are on track to fall 10 positions on the table.
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It is also the fourth time in five years the Broncos will not play finals footy, with three of those misses being under current coach Kevin Walters. The 40-6 loss to the Dolphins on Saturday night was also the biggest defeat the Broncos had suffered to a Queensland-based club in their history, surpassing the 36-4 loss to North Queensland in 2006.
With their season on the line, the Broncos dished up an error-ridden mish-mash of mediocrity. It was also a microcosm of their failings in 2024. And now their recruitment will come under the spotlight when the Broncos review their season. While there is expected to be no spot for Oates at Red Hill next year, it is almost certain he won't be the only one told to look elsewhere.
with AAP
