Rugby Australia is staring down a fight to keep arguably its brightest young talent, with star 19-year-old Treyvon Pritchard a top target of expansion NRL franchise PNG Chiefs.
The Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday reported that Reds flyer Pritchard and brother Kaden, who is at the Brumbies, met with Chiefs officials in Brisbane this week as the club looks to build out its squad ahead of their entry into the NRL in 2028.
News of a potential switch comes just days after Pritchard scored a stunning try in the Reds' 31-21 loss to the Hamilton-based Chiefs, the replacement beating All Blacks star Damian McKenzie near the touchline for his maiden Super Rugby try.
Pritchard is contracted with the Reds until the end of next season, making him a prime target for the NRL's newest team.
Asked about Pritchard's longer-term future in rugby on Wednesday morning, his current Reds boss and incoming Wallabies Les Kiss was hopeful the teenager would not be lost to the 15-player game.
"There's people talking behind closed doors on a lot of things in this area," Kiss said when asked about Pritchard.
"All I'll say is that Treyvon having that attention does not surprise me, that's always going to happen when you've got the qualities that he does. He's a superb young man, so coachable, great in the locker room, and to boot he's bloody good on the footy pitch.
"He's two-sided, right foot, left, foot, he steps off both feet, turn of pace; had a great goose-step the other night that bamboozled the Chiefs' defence for his try.
"He's a quality human being, a quality player and I'm not surprised he's getting interest, and no doubt there's machinations underneath the radar going ahead to try and make sure we can get some solution."
Pritchard earlier this year told ESPN of his love for rugby, revealing he had resisted the previous approaches of NRL clubs because of his fondness for the Reds, whose programme he has been a part of since he was 15.
"I think from a young age I'd always watch the Wallabies versus All Blacks, and growing up in Australia that's something that I want to aspire to," Pritchard told ESPN in the preseason, a few weeks before his Super Rugby hopes became a reality.
"I played league until I was 14 and then switched over to union as a 15-year-old. And yeah, ever since I switched, I think that was just a clear pathway that I saw myself going down. And yeah, I've enjoyed that ever since."
Whether Pritchard rejects the inflated salaries on offer for PNG Chiefs players, however, is another matter entirely.
Any player who signs with the franchise will not have to pay tax on their earnings, effectively doubling the Chiefs' salary cap. The allowance has already attracted Wests Tigers captain Jarome Luai to the club, the halfback unveiled as the Chiefs' first signing earlier this month.
Such has been Pritchard's rookie season, where he has mostly been used off the bench as a second-half replacement, that the teenager has already been thrown up as a Wallabies bolter this year. With Kiss set to take the national team's reins from Joe Schmidt from August, a callup could come as early as Australia's separate two-Test series against Japan and Argentina.
But a push for the home World Cup next year is a more likely scenario, despite the Wallabies being blessed with an array of outside back talent.
Rugby Australia will not however want to see arguably its brightest young talent up and leave the game after just two seasons of professional rugby, particularly given he is a pathways success story unlike recent recruit Josep-Aukuso Suaalii who joined the NRL while still at school before he was brought back to rugby on one of the richest deals in Australia sport.
Pritchard starred in Australia Under 18s thrashings of New Zealand last year, before making his Reds debut against Japanese club Panasonic Wild Knights while still at school.
He will be a walk-up start for the Junior Wallabies' World Championship campaign in Georgia later next month, too, unless he does receive an unlikely Wallabies call.
While conscious of overpaying for a player at such a young age, RA does have greater financial clout at its disposal following the record profit generated by last year's British and Irish Lions Tour.
But the governing body may have its arm forced by the Chiefs favourable tax status.
"My cheque book isn't that big," Kiss quipped when asked what it might take to keep Pritchard. "All I'll say is that the attention is warranted, that's for sure.
"He's made it pretty clear to date he loves what it is here at the Reds and he loves the game of rugby. He's played a lot of league and rugby.
"We're giving him a lot of opportunity to grow and get the experience that he needs, and he is going to push a lot of people; it makes that back three very competitive in Queensland Reds, let alone the wider landscape of Australian rugby.
"We're just glad that he's in good from and he's loving it here at the moment, and we'll see something good from him again this week against the Force."
Kiss confirmed that Pritchard was on the Wallabies "depth chart" but wouldn't be drawn on how quickly he might graduate to Test rugby.
With the threat of the Chiefs and NRL now abundantly clear, that may have to come sooner rather than later.