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.
1. Perth Bears
The Bears have to be the real front-runner for Doueihi if he does go down the path of requesting a release.
Really, they need to sign more talent for their inguaural season with their final eight spots, and particularly in the spine.
They have signed Mason Barber to play fullback, and have Tyran Wishart to likely join Toby Sexton in the halves with no hooker signed yet.
Doueihi signing, whether to play at halfback or five-eighth, could ultimately free up Wishart to play dummy half and add both talent, and a key experienced player to the club's inaugural season.
He would instantly become one of their best and most important players, and the Bears need to move heaven and earth to make this happen if there is a chance of him leaving Concord.
