The Gold Coast Titans will likely be forced to continue their wait for a decision from Tino Fa'asuamaleaui over his future.
The star forward, who is a walk-up Queensland Maroons and Australian Kangaroos representative, is contracted to the Gold Coast long-term, but has multiple player options in his deal starting from 2027.
Fa'asuamaleaui, at one point, was leaning towards leaving the Titans, but a change of coach saw him commit to giving Josh Hannay a chance to turn things around.
But whether that means he will commit his future to the club instead of joining a rival, like the Perth Bears, who have reportedly thrown about $1.5 million per year in his direction, remains to be seen.
According to AAP's Joel Gould, the Titans will be left in the lurch, waiting for an answer for some time yet, with the journalist telling SEN Radio that the club won't push Fa'asuamaleaui either.
"I was talking to one of the officials yesterday, and the lay of the land is this, really the ball's in Tino's (Fa'asuamaleaui) court," Gould told SEN 1170 Drive.
"He's the one that can make the decision. The Titans want him to stay.
"If Tino decides he wants to leave, that will be up to him, but the key point is that he's going to look at the environment that he's in, make an assessment on what he thinks, where he thinks the club is headed… so for Tino, I think it's more of a waiting game.
"I don't think we're going to wake up next week, and Tino's going to have announced that he's staying at the Titans. I don't think it's going to happen that soon. I think we're going to have to wait and see, and really, there's no rush for him."
Already the club captain, Fa'asuamaleaui is the key part of the Titans' long-term future, and the Gold Coast will do whatever they can to keep him.
The club still have plenty of wiggle room in their future salary cap with plenty of spots open, although the recent re-signings of Beau Fermor and Jayden Campbell have burned some of that rope.
