HE famously urinated on Suncorp Stadium, and is currently serving time in Lithgow Jail for a vicious assault.

But Russell Packer has emerged as the Broncos’ No.1 recruitment target with incoming master coach Wayne Bennett in talks to bring the incarcerated prop to Red Hill.

The Sunday Mail can reveal Bennett is keen to sign Packer, believing the 24-year-old can bring a hard-edge to a Broncos pack craving a front-row intimidator.

Bennett is aware the move will attract criticism given Packer’s chequered past and will seek approval from the Brisbane board, who will decide whether to submit a formal offer.

But if the planets align, Bennett will take one of the biggest recruitment gambles of his career by bringing to Brisbane arguably the code’s most-feared front-rower.

media_camera Russell Packer appears to relieve himself on the field at Suncorp Stadium.

The 112kg prop is so talented he made his NRL debut for the Warriors at age 18 and represented New Zealand at 21.

But his world fell apart this year, just months after he first earned notoriety for urinating on the field in a clash against the Broncos in June 2013 at Suncorp Stadium.

The Warriors were fined $15,000 for Packer’s midfield pit-stop, but deeper trouble followed when he quit the club to join Bennett at the Knights this season.

In January, Packer pleaded guilty to a drunken assault after punching a man before stomping on his head in an act Magistrate Greg Grogan labelled “cowardly and deplorable”.

The Knights tore up his contract. He was given a two-year jail term, which was softened in April this year when Packer received a non-parole term, meaning is eligible for release on January 5, 2015.

That scenario would give Packer two months to take part in the Broncos’ pre-season and acquire the necessary fitness for the 2015 NRL premiership kick-off in March.

media_camera Russell Packer in action for the Warriors.

Bennett must clear several hurdles to secure Packer. A rubber-stamp from the Broncos board aside, there are at least three Sydney clubs chasing the raw-boned bookend the Dragons, Parramatta and Penrith.

There is a risk Packer could be deported to New Zealand upon release from Lithgow Prison.

But there is a precedent of former jailbirds receiving NRL and government backing to play top-level rugby league.

Current Eels back-rower Manu Ma’u was jailed for two years in 2007 for an assault in New Zealand, but was cleared by authorities to move abroad to play NRL.

Bennett declined to comment when contacted by The Sunday Mail, but the interest is genuine and Packer regards the super coach as a valued life mentor.

The Broncos are also battling salary-cap pressures.

But if Brisbane hierarchy can be convinced of Packer’s prospects for rehabilitation, the club could afford an incentive-based deal worth around $100,000 a season.

media_camera Russell Packer during the pre-season.

Packer played 110 NRL games in six seasons for the Warriors and would give the Broncos pack an element of fear alongside Josh McGuire in the engine room.

Should the Broncos secure Packer, it would almost certainly spell the end for veteran prop Ben Hannant, who remains unsigned on the eve of the finals.

“I don’t know what’s going on yet,” Hannant said.

“Hopefully this week, I will know more. Brisbane has some dramas with the salary cap, I’m being patient but that’s footy.

“I’ve spoken to Wayne and I’ll talk to him again after the weekend. Wayne wants me here and he wants me to play on but it depends on how much room there is in the salary cap.

“I’m hoping to be here but how I fit into the jigsaw I don’t know.

“I’m not taking anything for granted. But I’m definitely not retiring, I’m 29, I have no major injuries, I feel great so I have at least another five years left in me. I just want to get more minutes and if I get that, I can be an asset wherever I will be.”