AJ Brimson appears destined to become the latest player to sign for the PNG Chiefs – with two Australian journalists hinting strongly that the England star is bound for Papua New Guinea.

The Chiefs have already brought in one of English rugby league’s premiere talents, with St Helens forward Matty Lees heading to Port Moresby in 2028. He will finish his commitments in Super League next year before making the move.

And now, Australian reporter James Hooper has said on his Fanatics podcast he believes Brimson will do the same.

AJ Brimson to make PNG Chiefs move

Hooper even went as far as to say he felt the deal would happen with some certainty, insisting that he will be bound for Papua New Guinea when the Chiefs get up and running under Willie Peters in 2028.

He said: “AJ Brimson.. he’s been linked with them quite a few times over the course of the last six weeks. We flagged this story going back a couple of months. And I think this deal will happen, for AJ Brimson to go to the Chiefs. He’s on World Cup commitments with England at the moment, and the Titans initially didn’t want to put any money in.

“Papua New Guinea are prepared to get to a certain figure around the $700,000-750,000 mark. It doesn’t happen for next year because the Chiefs aren’t in the competition next year so whether he stays at the Titans next year, which is how I’m hearing it, and then he’s off there for 2028. I think this deal will get done after the World Cup.”

Sydney Morning Herald reporter Christian Nicolussi also backed up the claim from Hooper that Brimson would likely be a Chief in 2028.

He said on the same podcast: “I made some calls on the way here this morning. The Titans have heard the same rumours and it’d be a great fit for PNG. He wants to be a fullback and right now, Gold Coast have Keano Kini and Jayden Campbell who can play there.”

Furthermore, it was suggested that Brimson could potentially look for an NRL deal elsewhere in 2027 too, should he wish to play his first-choice role of fullback. Brimson has spent the majority of 2026 playing centre for the Titans – though he will start at fullback again for England this weekend.

Nicolussi added: “AJ Brimson, if he goes there in 2028 – what happens next year? You wouldn’t be surprised if a club like Perth could pop up and have that stop-gap solution.

“We’ve seen it with Connor Watson going to St George.. and I could see it happening with AJ too. They’ve got Joey Manu so it surprises me a little bit. But AJ Brimson, if he wants to play fullback it’s not going to happen at Gold Coast. It depends whether he wants to spend another 12 months playing out of position.”