She was named the 2016 Women's World Sevens Player of the Year and is a two time World Sevens Series champion with the Australian team.

Despite the Women's Premiership starting out with just five games per season, it is understood the Broncos have offered the Brisbane-raised athlete a rookie contract with a sizeable third party component, reflecting her national profile and various endorsements with Land Rover, Asics and Pantene.

The offer was understood to be competitive with what Caslick was being paid as a full-time professional traversing the globe on the Women's Sevens Series.

Complicating matters for RA is that its entire squad is coming off contract at the same time, leaving the sport potentially vulnerable to having its bones picked by the NRL. The governing body was understood to have tabled small upgrades for its top players, including Caslick, on Tuesday, and let others know they wanted to re-sign them.

It is understood Caslick's management rejected RA's initial offer and while Caslick has deep ties to rugby, and the groundbreaking women's team, she could yet be poised to make the defection of the decade in women's sport. It would be a major embarassment for rugby if the NRL were to lure Caslick or any of its top players, including Ellia Green, Alicia Quirk, Emilee Cherry or Evania Pelite.