Reed Mahoney was one of the NRL’s form hookers in 2021 before suffering from a season-ending shoulder injury.

At the time, Mahoney had scored three tries, assisted 13, gotten 13 line break assists, averaged 37 running metres per game and made 763 tackles for an efficiency rate of 96.1%.

Since becoming a starter for the Eels in 2019, he has been a crucial component of their roster, with the club having won 62% of the games Mahoney has played in, making the finals every year he has participated in at least 17 games.

However, the Eels have a plethora of talent off-contract at the end of next season including Mahoney, and the club may have to accept that they won’t be able to re-sign him as the Courier Mail reports he has been in talks with the Brisbane Broncos about a move there in 2023.

This move would make sense for Mahoney as he is originally from Queensland and would of course be moving closer to home to play with the club.

Parramatta’s fight to retain a key member of its spine has dramatically escalated after the star held talks with the Broncos @brentread_7 https://t.co/Q5BO867QJI

— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) October 18, 2021

Last month there were also talks of Mahoney signing with the NRL’s 17th franchise, who has since been revealed as the Dolphins, with The Australian’s Brent Read stating on Triple M that he was one of their targets.

“They’ve got seven really prominent guys who are entering into the last year of their deals on November 1 which means they can speak to rival clubs,” said Read.

“Part of their pitch was covering the area from Brisbane up to the Sunshine Coast. Their No. 1 target will be Harry Grant, Kalyn Ponga or Cameron Munster.

“After that, I’d suggest Reed Mahoney is high on their list. He’s from the Sunshine Coast, so I know Parramatta are desperate to tie him down before November 1.

“They’ve started those talks but they are desperate to lock him away because hookers are prized commodities in the game at the moment.”

It seems that a bidding war for Mahoney could dominate headlines for the next 12 months, as the Broncos and Dolphins look to bring in their marquee, while the Eels try to retain one of their stalwarts.