In what is the most chaotic free agency period of all-time, the scramble for off-contract NRL talent is well and truly on.
There are plenty of big-name outside backs heading to the market, with Bradman Best and Herbie Farnworth among them.
But it's Farnworth's Dolphins teammate Jack Bostock who, in the midst of a season where he lost just one game and is now preparing for a Rugby League World Cup final with the Kangaroos, has created one of the great scrambles.
A towering outside back who can play on the wing or in the centres, it's little wonder that the Dolphins are desperate to retain him, and that Sydney clubs are also sniffing around.
While Bostock has, to this stage at least, been fairly non-commital over his future and has indicated he will give the Dolphins a chance to retain him, all signs are pointing towards the fact he wants to come back to Sydney.
Bostock was a Dragons junior and should have begun his career for the club before the Dolphins and Wayne Bennett struck to snatch him away.
The outside back's form line in junior rugby league said everything about where he was heading, and his uncoachable attributes - height and speed - have been on display ever since.
The former junior Origin player's exit from Wollongong was met with dismay by Dragons fans at the time, and that has never been far away from the honest, raw emotion watching him since - 31 tries in 56 games, and a season where he has averaged 154 metres per game in 2026.
The Dragons have been heavily linked to Bostock in recent months, and the understanding Zero Tackle had in the days leading up to November 1 is that it would have taken a pretty significant snag for Bostock to not be signed as a Dragon for 2028 and beyond by the time Christmas rolled around.
That significant snag, if reports in recent days are to be believed though, has arrived, with the Sydney Roosters declaring their intention to bid for him.
The Roosters have of course been more linked to Herbie Farnworth, but it's understood they are now also interested in Bostock.
Whether that's because negotiations with Farnworth have broken down, or whether they think they can get both players, is unclear at this stage, but the Roosters identifying a target is a major concern for other clubs in the mix - they get their man more often than they don't.
The Dragons though, must move heaven and earth to sign Bostock.
The Red V have undergone one of the great roster rebuilds in the last 12 months, adding Scott Drinkwater to play fullback, Phillip Sami on the wing, Kodi Nikorima and Luke Metcalf in the halves, Keaon Koloamatangi in the middle and Connor Watson as a utility for 2027, as well as re-signing their excellent crop of young forwards - Hamish Stewart, the Couchman brothers, Dylan Egan, Jacob Halangahu, and potentially the best of the lot Loko Pasifiki Tonga, who had requested a release after Shane Flanagan refused to play him.
But it's the backline which the Dragons haven't addressed yet.
The outside backs are certainly not up to the standard they ultimately need to be.
Valentine Holmes will run around again in 2027, but had a poor 2026, while Moses Suli is free to leave the club. Phillip Sami's arrival helps, but the Dragons have a real toss up around who out of Daniel Atkinson, Setu Tu, Clint Gutherson and Mat Feagai plays in 2027.
It's clear why they are going after Bostock, and clear why they have already been linked to others in that space, including Izack Tago potentially for 2027, although that now looks at long odds.
The Roosters have their own backline issues given the key departures at the end of 2026 in Mark Nawaqanitawase and Daniel Tupou while Billy Smith is off-contract at the end of 2027, Joseph Manu has confirmed his future lies in PNG, and James Tedesco will retire at some point in the next two years.
Bostock would be a great signing for whichever clubs lands him, and it's obvious the Roosters have money to spend.
What has been lost though is that the Dragons do too.
Despite their re-signing and signing run, the loss of Clint Gutherson and Valentine Holmes at the end of 2027, as well as Kyle Flanagan's likely departure among others, will free up plenty of coin around the club.
A lot of that is going to land in the lap of Bostock, and potentially another mid level backline player.
The Dragons are going to improve drastically in 2027, but they aren't a premiership contender yet.
Another year for the forwards, and an elite weapon or two in the back five though, and that might change for 2028.
That, ultimately, is why they must pay whatever it takes to get Bostock to the club.
The club he should never have left to start with.
