A player cleanout at embattled NRL club Brisbane appears to have begun with star recruit Jack Bird reportedly requesting a release.
Sweeping changes to the Broncos were on the cards with livid coach Anthony Seibold set to put the broom through his roster in a club review ordered after their humiliating NRL finals exit.
And it seems Bird is poised to become the first to leave, with the former Cronulla premiership winner reportedly approaching the Broncos to investigate a return to Sydney.
"It was Jack and his manager who approached us," Seibold told News Corp.
Bird was not off contract until 2020 but Brisbane are not expected to stand in the way of the former NSW star who is reportedly on $800,000 a season.
The 24-year-old never delivered bang for buck, playing just 17 games in two seasons due to a string of injuries since his high-profile arrival at Red Hill.
His departure would free up much needed cap space for Brisbane to not only re-sign gun forward David Fifita but also lure a playmaker that the NRL club so desperately needs.
The future of Brisbane captain Darius Boyd, veteran hooker Andrew McCullough, fullback Anthony Milford and winger Corey Oates is also up in the air after they were told they were no guarantee of first grade action in 2020 in a brutally honest end of season review on Wednesday.
Seibold is set to make a presentation about his future plans for the player roster to the Broncos board on Friday.
A star playmaker is expected to be on top of Seibold's shopping list after being forced to use makeshift halves Boyd and specialist hooker Jake Turpin this year.
While they helped Brisbane scrape into the finals in eighth spot Boyd and Turpin were exposed in Brisbane's embarrassing 58-0 elimination final loss to Parramatta.
Canberra duo Aidan Sezer and Sam Williams as well as Melbourne's Brodie Croft, South Sydney's Cody Walker, Cronulla's Chad Townsend and UK-based Blake Austin have already been identified as possible playmaker targets for Brisbane.
Boyd still has two years left on his contract and has refused to retire despite scathing criticism of his form.
But he looks set to start 2020 in Queensland Cup after being told on Wednesday that he had "no longer earned the right" to wear the Broncos jersey following an ill-fated mid-season switch from fullback to five-eighth.
Teenager Tom Dearden is considered a long-term No.7 prospect but he is recovering from a foot injury.
Incumbent halfback Turpin is reportedly set to be moved back to hooker in 2020 at the expense of former Queensland State of Origin rake McCullough.
Australian Associated Press
