BRISBANE-BOUND? Scott Prince has been released by Gold Coast. Source: The Sunday Telegraph
THE Broncos have sounded out Scott Prince and could secure him to a cut-price deal worth about $150,000 after the Titans halfback was released today by the Gold Coast.
Prince's messy contract saga reached a conclusion of sorts this morning when Titans chief executive David May confirmed the former Maroons halfback would not be at the club next season, although his proposed move to English club Hull has fallen through.
The one certainty is Prince will remain in the NRL next season, with the Broncos and Wayne Bennett's Newcastle Knights emerging as front-runners to snare the veteran playmaker.
Brisbane powerbrokers will not comment publicly on the prospect of signing Prince but it can be revealed the Broncos will step-up talks now that the 32-year-old has severed ties with the Titans.
The 2005 Clive Churchill Medallist could commit to the Broncos or Newcastle within days.
The Broncos' attempt to sign Prince will be aided on dual fronts. For a start, they will be able to get him at a bargain price, with the Titans set to provide Prince's new club a subsidy of up to $200,000 on his current $400,000-a-season contract for 2013.
That would give the Broncos the latitude within the salary cap to snare Prince, who has a history with Brisbane, having played for the club between 2001-03 before two serious leg injuries convinced him to start afresh at the Wests Tigers.
But the Knights, whose playmaking stocks need bolstering, could be a left-field contender. Master mentor Bennett lured Prince to the Broncos from the Cowboys in 2001 and has previously admitted releasing the Mt Isa product to the Tigers is among the greatest regrets of his stellar coaching career.
In August, Broncos boss Paul White made it clear the club would not be breaking the bank to sign a marquee player for 2013, but the Titans subsidy would give the Broncos the ability to afford Prince.
May confirmed today Prince would remain in the NRL, but not at the Titans, after a 90-minute chat with the halfback at Gold Coast headquarters last night.
"I can confirm that he is not going overseas, so the media reports confirming his move to Hull are incorrect. The fact he is staying in the NRL is a surprise to me because I didn't think that was an option," May said.
"Scott formally asked us for a release from the final year of his contract yesterday and it was quite a long day, but after some discussions internally and with Scott, we accepted that request and granted a release late last night.
"Where he is going I don't know, we were asked if we would grant a release to another NRL club and we spoke about it internally.
"We just wanted to do the right thing by him. This came from a conversation we had with him about 2014, we had an option to extend his contract for that season and we made it clear very early we wouldn't be taking that up because of our plans.
"It's a good outcome for everybody, we have to be thankful that one of the top players in the NRL took a punt to come to a new franchise in 2007 and the service he has given the Gold Coast, the fans and the community is remarkable.
"In granting him a release, it's as much a testament of the impact he has had here as anything else."
Asked if Prince would be at the Broncos next season, May said: "Scott hasn't disclosed that to us, we don't mind where he plays as long as he's happy and he has a longer-term deal.
"When someone makes the decision they want to move on, you work to make it happen because if someone isn't committed to something it's not always the best solution to keep them there.
"We now have to pick up the pieces and get on with our season. It's not an ideal scenario but we have some good halves and we'll get on with things."
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