Inglis tipped to sign with Broncos - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Inglis tipped to sign with Broncos

By Wayne Heming 17/07/2010 09:23:14 PM Comments (0)

Melbourne superstar Greg Inglis is tipped to sign a multi-year deal with the Brisbane Broncos on Monday.

Forty-eight hours after a report commissioned by News Limited revealed Melbourne had exceeded the salary cap by more than $3 million over the past four seasons, Inglis is set to break up the Storm's "fab four" and accept a two-year deal with Brisbane.

In a stunning turnaround after Inglis's manager Allan Gainey knocked back Brisbane's one-and-only offer of around $400,000-a-season on Monday, he is understood to have contacted the club's football operations manager Andrew Gee on Thursday to re-open negotiations.

It's believed Brisbane stood firm on their initial offer when Gainey called back late in the week.

Brisbane officials refused to comment on Saturday on southern reports the deal had been done with Inglis while Storm coach Craig Bellamy said he had heard nothing of a move.

"Perhaps it's just another rumour, I don't know," Bellamy said after the Storm's 13-6 loss to the Warriors in Auckland.

"We weren't supposed to be coming over here on Friday, there was a rumour round that we were pulling out of this game ... So it might be just like that."

It's believed Inglis will ink a two-year deal with the six-time premiers on Monday unless something unexpected happens over the weekend.

Inglis's signing would be a massive coup for Brisbane who will lose giant young centre Israel Folau to the AFL at the end of the season.

However it didn't look like eventuating earlier in the week after Gainey rejected Brisbane's offer.

"The offer we put to them (Inglis) is what we could afford and what fits in the cap," Gee told AAP on Thursday just before the startling results of the investigation into Melbourne's salary cap reporting were revealed.

"They (Inglis) would have to come back to us and say what we offered might be on the mark, but by the sounds of it, it's nowhere near it."

Melbourne, who had hopes to retain Inglis, Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk, will be rocked by the news.

It's understood Melbourne agreed to a request from Inglis to leave on compassionate grounds with his fiancee working in Brisbane.

But Inglis' Storm teammates also claimed to be in the dark.

"We don't really know what's happening. When some news breaks we get told and that's it," Smith said.

Melbourne are set to release a number of quality players from their roster in the hope of hanging onto Inglis, Slater, Smith and Cronk but that could fall apart if Inglis walks.

Forward Aiden Tolman will join the Bulldogs while Ryan Hoffman and Brett Finch have been linked to the Super League in England.

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