Brisbane Broncos forward Fletcher Baker is set to leave the club at the end of the year.
Baker, originally from the Sydney Roosters, joined the Red Hill-based outfit at the start of 2024, but has played just 14 first-grade games across two seasons for the outfit.
Prior to that, he played 45 games for the tri-colours between 2021 and 2023, but was never able to break through and be a permanent part of Trent Robinson’s best 17, instead spending most of his time around the fringes of the team.
Baker went to Brisbane at a time when then-coach Kevin Walters was looking to upgrade the front row, and it seemed as if it was a solid win-win situation for both player and club.
It has been anything but though, with Baker managing 12 games last year without a great deal of success, and then following it up with just two games this year, playing 18 minutes and 25 minutes in back-to-back losses against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and St George Illawarra Dragons during Round 10 and 11.
He has since fallen off the radar of the club’s plans, although was 18th man in Round 25 against the Newcastle Knights.I
nstead, he has been jumped in the pecking order by multiple players, despite injuries to the likes of Xavier Willison seemingly boosting his chances of playing first-grade.
The Broncos signing Ben Talty from the North Sydney Bears shortly before the transfer deadline, and then him jumping Baker in the queue, seemed to be all but the death blow for Baker at Brisbane, and now News Corp are reporting he will not be offered a new deal.
Off-contract at the end of 2025 and having taken up more than a small share of the salary cap since his arrival, Brisbane will not move to renew him, and instead have offered Talty an extension for another year.
It’s unclear if Baker will attract any NRL interest for 2026, or whether he will have to look overseas to secure his future in the sport.
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