Adam Doueihi may not have request his release from the Wests Tigers yet, but it would hardly be a surprise if it came over the next few weeks.
The halfback and utility option is sitting out this weekend's match against the Canberra Raiders after being told by Benji Marshall he wouldn't be running out in the number seven, with the club instead preferring to hand a debut to Javon Andrews.
The move came as a shock, but Doueihi's decision to sit out the match was a bigger one.
The star is contracted through to the end of 2029 after putting pen to paper on an extension earlier this year, and while he has obvious talent, his injury history and the way the club have stuck by him through long stints on the sideline mean this is all getting very ugly and very quickly.
It's hard though, given the events of this week, to see Doueihi suiting up for the Concord-based joint-venture next year at this stage.
The club clearly see Latu Fainu and Andrews as the way forward. The duo are prodigiously talented, and even with Jarome Luai leaving the club at the end of the year, Jock Madden is also in the system ensuring there are options.
Jamie Humphreys is also back on the open market and could become a candidate to replace Doueihi at Concord if he does put in a request to leave the club.
Assuming that may happen, here are the clubs he could play for in 2027.
4. Newcastle Knights
Another likely outsider on the list, and given their salary cap, maybe not a great chance, but there is also a school of thought where, if the Tigers are keen to move on from Doueihi to prioritise young talent, they could well be willing to pay some of the freight.
The Knights are stocked pretty nicely in the halves, and Dylan Brown has become the answer to many of the problems posed of the club last year, while receiving ample support from Fletcher Sharpe and Sandon Smith.
But whether that halves combination is one which could win a premiership is up in the air.
Sharpe's best position may well be in the centres, while Smith has been on the outside of the starting side looking in when the Knights are at full strength.
That could open the door for the Knights to look at a Doueihi and Brown halves partnership which would be one of the more dangerous in the NRL.
