THE Brisbane Broncos could be forced to use star recruit Ben Barba in the halves next year as teen prodigy Anthony Milford is now "on the fence" about returning to Queensland.

The homesick Milford is spending this week with his family in Inala and will decide whether to activate a get-out clause in his Canberra Raiders contract by the weekend.

New Raiders coach Ricky Stuart on Monday said he was optimistic of keeping the utility, whose father Halo is ill, in the lime green jersey.

Stuart met with Milford's manager Sam Ayoub in Canberra on Monday afternoon to discuss the Brisbane-raised teen's intentions.

Ayoub said Milford was "torn" between family and his passion for the Raiders and was grappling with the magnitude of the decision.

"He is on the fence about what he should or shouldn’t be doing," Ayoub said

"He’s not unhappy at the Raiders. This is about family and Canberra know that.

"They allowed that clause to be put in Anthony’s contract. They didn’t allow that in for the fun of it.

"Should he elect to stay there and be away from his family for another year ... there’s no reason why he can’t do that.

"This is a very difficult decision for him.

"It is a personal choice. He's up in Brisbane now and I will be up there later this week to sit down with Anthony and his family to assess exactly how they are feeling.

"It is not like 'I hate this mob, I want to go to that mob'.

"He’s torn between family and his career.

"He’s entitled to be homesick and be around his family and whether he chooses to do that now or in the future ... that hasn’t been decided yet."

Broncos’ football operations manager Andrew Gee yesterday reiterated his club had not made contact with Milford who is off-limits to rival teams until November 1.

Stuart is a huge fan of fleet-footed teen.

Earlier this year he praised the 19-year-old’s ability after his Parramatta Eels were beaten by the Raiders.

When asked if he was optimistic of Milford staying yesterday, Stuart replied "I think so".

"This is a great club and he’s a big part of it. I have a good relationship with his manager. We will sit down and go about it the right way," he said.

"I have briefly spoken to Sam. It is important Anthony has a break and finds time to spend with his family."

Without Milford, the Broncos are light in their halves following the retirement of Scott Prince and the departures of Peter Wallace and Corey Norman.

Barba played the majority of his junior football in the halves but found his best NRL form at fullback.

He will have scans on his injured ankle on Tuesday morning but it is expected he only suffered ankle syndesmosis when he broke down against Newcastle.

He should only require a four-week recovery.

If Barba plays five eighth it would allow Josh Hoffman to stay at fullback.