http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl...h/news-story/994074565a506a533497abd685161e3f
The incredible sacrifice Sam Thaiday will make to help young Brisbane Broncos flourish
SAM Thaiday is a Broncos man through and through.
While some south of the Tweed take exception to the “third man in” they see niggling their beloved Blues every year, Brisbane fans see a loveable larrikin who will give his all for their club.
But this latest revelation from the seasoned forward may surprise even the most devout supporters.
Thaiday told
foxsports.com.au he is prepared to take a significant pay cut for the sake of Brisbane’s long-term health.
He also revealed where he thinks Jack Bird fits into the 2018 line-up, and the work Anthony Milford must do to become a representative player.
THE SACRIFICE
Thaiday is about to turn 32.
He signed a contract extension back in 2015 which expires at the end of the 2018 season. It’s thought to be worth about $400,000-a-year to Sam and the Broncos.
For a veteran backrower who’s closing in on 300 NRL games, and still represents Queensland and Australia every year, that doesn’t sound like such a ludicrous amount of money for a club to fork out.
But it all counts when the Brisbane masterminds are trying to balance the books.
The Broncos have already paid big money to lure Jack Bird to the club next year. Anthony Milford is on the verge of announcing a new deal which is rumoured to be worth upwards of $1 million-a-season.
Then there’s captain and fullback Darius Boyd, internationals Alex Glenn and Jordan Kahu, and exciting speedster James Roberts all in need of a new contract this year. They’ll demand significant cash.
And Thaiday says if he can help the club spend a little extra to strengthen its roster, he is happy to sacrifice some of his own dollars.
“I think at the end of the day if you want to be a genuine premiership team sometimes you have to make sacrifices, and a lot of the time it is monetary ones,” Thaiday told
foxsports.com.au.
“You want to build a team and keep a team together, and build some consistency as a squad ... you do sometimes need to give a bit and take a bit here and there.
“I’m probably coming to the back end of my career and the majority of my contract now is third-party stuff where I have to work for it.
“I’m more than happy to sit back and take a bit of a cut on the contract stuff and work harder away from footy and off the field to earn my money that way.
“If I do after this year want to extend my contract, if my body feels up to it, I’m sure that will be a discussion my management will have with the club.”
