Broncos to go after Craig Bellamy says Phil Gould as $1.6M Anthony Seibold payout negotiation ramps up

Rugby league icon Phil Gould believes if the Broncos want to reclaim their spot atop the NRL throne they need to make a second play for Storm coach Craig Bellamy as Anthony Seibold's rein at Red Hill draws to an end.

Seibold's torrid time at the Broncos looks all but over, with the coach's management reportedly locked in negotiations with the club over a payout figure for the 45-year-old to walk away effective immediately.

On Sunday it was reported the Broncos had tabled a million-dollar offer for Seibold to pack his bags, after high-level talks with chairman Karl Morris threw up the possibility of the coach leaving before the end of the season.

Still technically employed by the club, it is believed Seibold will only walk for a figure closer to $1.6M seeing as he's guaranteed $2.6M should he choose to stay and see out the final three years of his five-year deal, as revealed by Nine's Ben Dobbin.

"They haven't sacked him and he still can continue on at Red Hill," Dobbin told Nine's 100% Footy. "Remembering he still has three years to go on a five-year contract which is fully guaranteed.

"The figure that's still remaining is $2.6M. So, we're a long way from home with a million being offered, $2.6M guaranteed. My understanding at the moment is they're in negotiations. They're trying to get that figure up. It should sit somewhere between $1.4M-$1.6M by the time it is finished, and Anthony Seibold will eventually walk away.

"This is not as much about him being a coach but more about a welfare issue from the Broncos perspective. They want to part ways, they want to do the right thing. Clearly it hasn't worked, and now Brisbane need to move and find their next coach and start planning for 2021."

While Maroons coach Kevin Walters' name has been bandied about Red Hill as the likely heir to the Broncos throne, Gould suggested they needed to set their sights higher.

The club famously made a play for veteran Storm coach Bellamy almost two years ago, just months before the infamous coaching swap between Seibold and Wayne Bennett.

According to Gould, if the Broncos want to be the best again, they had to start "at the top" and have a second go at Bellamy.

"I think they've got to get the best available," Gould said. "It's a big club you get the best available, the most experienced.

"Rookies haven't worked for them, it just hasn't worked for them."

Asked if he was hinting at Bellamy, Gould replied: "100%"

"You start there, and you work your way back I would say.

"I'll tell you this If there is going to be another franchise in Brisbane the first person they'll talk to is Craig Bellamy. And why wouldn't you?

"Start at the top. If you're going to be the number one club, start at the top, simple as that."

It could be a hard sell for the Broncos after Bellamy revealed earlier this year he held little "desire to keep going" beyond his current 2021 deal.

"I know I've said it before and I have gone on, but I'll be 62 by the end of the year," He said. "So, I think if I see out this contract, that might be it for me."