Broncos star Kotoni Staggs credits partner Brittany Becht for saving his NRL career

Staggs is hellbent on avenging Brisbane’s 2023 NRL grand final loss after developing into a leader at Red Hill in one of the game’s great redemption stories.

Staggs, 26, was facing an uncertain future in the NRL following a string of off-field scandals which prompted NRL chief Andrew Abdo to meet directly with the vulnerable backline sensation in 2021.

Since then, Staggs has bloomed into not only a powerhouse player but also one of Brisbane’s proudest leaders and is on track to be a Bronco for life after re-signing until 2028.

He now sits alongside the likes of Adam Reynolds, Pat Carrigan and Payne Haas in the Broncos’ leadership group and has the qualities to one day captain the club.

While Abdo’s one-on-one put Staggs on notice, he also met his partner Brittany Becht around the same time.

The couple became engaged last year and Staggs said she played a key role in him becoming a role model for his family following a string of scandalous headlines.

“You live and learn,” Staggs said.

“You’re young and things come up in life that can distract you and what not.

“I think of where I was in my life and when it all wasn’t going to plan, I knew that I had to look at myself, where I wanted to be and where I wanted to end up.

“That was not in the newspapers for bad reasons, but being there for good reasons.

“I have a lot of nephews and nieces that look up to me and I didn’t want them to see what their uncle was doing away from footy. I want them to hear about all the good things that I do.

“I met my beautiful partner along the way and she’s the one that changed me as well. To have her in my life meant a lot to me at that time.

“I needed someone like that to be able to give me a nudge to pull my head in. She’s done that, been by my side ever since and that was the turning point.”

Becht’s father Richard works for the Warriors as the New Zealand club’s long-serving media manager.

However Staggs has converted her into a Broncos fan over the past four years.

“Her dad’s at the Warriors and she grew up around the Warriors,” Staggs said.

“But she’s a Bronco now.”

Staggs has evolved from a prodigious young talent into one of the NRL’s top centres since his 2018 debut for the Broncos.

Despite growing up in Wellington, country NSW, Staggs always dreamt of playing for the Broncos.

However there was a time when he contemplated leaving Brisbane.

In the midst of his turbulent 2021 season, and on the back of Brisbane’s 2020 wooden spoon disaster, Staggs was courted heavily by Newcastle.

The Knights were so confident they had their man that the club drafted a press release to announce his acquisition.

But Staggs couldn’t bring himself to quit the Broncos and is now preparing for Sunday’s blockbuster qualifying final against the Raiders in Canberra.

“I did have meetings with other clubs but it was just to see what was out there,” he said.

“I knew that I didn’t want to be anywhere else but here.

“We’ve been in some dark times and some good times. I always knew that we had a bunch of boys here that can go all the way.

“I knew I had the team here, the boys. We were missing some key players in some key positions. We ended up finding them and everything else comes from that.

“As a young kid, my dream was to be here. I wanted to play here.

“I had something in the back of my head knowing where this team could get to and I’d always had that in my head that I never wanted to leave.

“The loyalty behind me with this club is massive.”

Now 141 games into his NRL career, Staggs is no longer the new kid on the block.

His form for Brisbane this season has been so impressive that Staggs is in contention for a spot in Australia’s 22-man squad for the year-ending Ashes tour of England.

Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters, his former mentor at the Broncos, is keeping a close eye on Staggs following injuries to centre options Latrell Mitchell, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Valentine Holmes.

However Staggs has a big decision to make.

He has played three Tests for Australia and Tonga and is yet to decide where his international future lies amid a raft of big-name defections to Pacific Nations.

“I’m lucky enough that I have two sides of my heritage. I’m Tongan and I’m Australian as well,” he said.

“I just want to play good footy for the Broncos for the rest of the year, win that grand final and see what happens from there.

“It’s good though knowing that your name is being talked about being picked for Australia, but I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing and it will take care of itself.

“I hope Kev’s still got my number. I’ll talk to him and see how I’m feeling, but my main focus is the Broncos.

“Some boys have gone different ways this year (with their allegiance). It comes back down to who you’re doing it for. It’s right for them to be able to go over and represent the other side.

“I’ve done that in the past. I feel like at the end of the year I’ll decide.”

For now, Staggs is chasing redemption.

The scars of Brisbane’s heartbreaking 2023 decider loss to Penrith are still raw and Staggs wants to go one step further this year. A win against the Raiders will book the Broncos a Suncorp Stadium preliminary final.

“This is where you want to be. You want to play in the finals,” he said.

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“It’s good to be back in finals and I can’t wait to get out on Sunday and do it again.

“It means a lot from where we’ve been.

“We’ve had some injuries and whatnot this year, but we’ve still turned up every week and proved a point.”