The Perth Bears preparation for their inaugural season took an unexpected turn recently when South Sydney Rabbitohs half and hooker Jamie Humphreys decided he wouldn't be joining the club for their inaugural season.
The deal had been as good as done, if you listened to the reports circulating, for weeks.
But then he backflipped. Decided moving across the country to join a squad that, on paper, is a long way away from where it needs to be, wasn't the best move for his career.
Instead, he decided to go back to the open market, where he has been since November 1, and take his chances there.
The Rabbitohs seemingly don't have the money, or, given the form of Ashton Ward, even the appetite to play Humphreys in anything other than a bench role, but his current club could yet become his future club if things go one way in the coming days and weeks.
Humphreys backflipping this late in the piece is an eyebrow-raiser given most clubs are well and truly closing on full squads for next year, but he is too good to not land a deal somewhere.
Here are the five clubs who could land him for 2027 and beyond.
5. Melbourne Storm
Humphreys is currently playing in a utility bench role for the Rabbitohs, and would be unlikely to do anything different in Melbourne.
At the age of just 24 though, Humphreys has time on his side, and the Storm have two ageing halves who will hang up the boots in the coming years.
The loss of Tyran Wishart to Perth at the end of the year means they need a new utility, and while Trent Toelau could step into that role, the jury is still out on him.
If Humphreys made the move south, there is no doubt he would feature in the 14 jumper every week, and be on standby to start at either hooker, where the Storm are short on depth, or the halves, if there were any injuries to the representative spine ahead of him.
Humphreys having a chance to learn from some of the game's best in Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant could be massively appealing to him as well.
Whether Melbourne have the money to even consider a player like Humphreys though is up for dispute.
