The NRL's rush to have a 20-team competition sometime in the coming years means that two new teams will join the competition in back-to-back years.
First, the Perth Bears in 2027, then, a team still yet to be named based out of Port Moresby in 2028.
It's an audacious project for the NRL, with both new places likely to struggle in their quest to attract marquee talent for a whole host of reasons.
Primarily among them is location, but as we saw when the Dolphins entered the competition ahead of 2023, the fact they were unlikely to be competitive straight away played into it as well.
The Dolphins wound up with a squad who could compete under Wayne Bennett, although without a great deal of depth to go with it which ultimately cost them any run at a finals appearance during the opening two years of their existence.
Similar issues have continued to plague them amid a heavy injury toll this year as Kristian Woolf took over from Bennett at the helm of the NRL's 17th franchise.
At the time of writing, they are still a chance of making the finals, although must beat the Gold Coast Titans on Sunday afternoon, the Canberra Raiders next week, and hope the Sydney Roosters come up short in their arch rivalry clash against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
While the Dolphins have become a reasonably competitive outfit and one would expect them to be in the mix for the finals next year at the very least, attention and pressure will turn to Mal Meninga and his set-up in Perth from November 1 as they begin to build a 30-man squad, attacking the free agency market with an entirely open $12 million-plus salary cap at their disposal.
The bottom line is that they can't afford to overpay for top tier talent though, and must instead attempt to attract a couple of marquee players before building out a squad with plenty of depth.
Maybe the push for depth is even more important in the case of Perth if they do indeed want to be built different and find success faster than the Dolphins' franchise have managed.
They are going to be facing a lot of travel back and forth across the country, and the toll of living three hours behind the rest of the competition, as well as their nearest away game being well and truly over a four-hour flight will make it a tricky series of circumstances for the club.
For the first time in their history, the New Zealand Warriors will not have the toughest road schedule in the competition.
It means Perth must build their squad most of the way to 30 with players capable of stepping into an NRL-level environment.
That, realistically, is pie in the sky stuff, but it must be the aim.
Where Perth must start though is on a couple of players they can build around.
It was the trickiest part for the Dolphins. You only have to remember the number of players who rejected the club to land elsewhere, from Kalyn Ponga to Brandon Smith.
The list goes on and on, despite their south-east Queensland location and Bennett - one of the greatest coaches to ever do it - being in charge of the club for its first two years.
But Perth must find a way - to convince the rest of the players they will offer contracts too that they are going to be competitive.
The closer we get to November 1, and the more we see of Jonah Pezet at the Melbourne Storm, the more it would appear in the realms of possibility that Cameron Munster is a chance of heading west.
It would be a monstrous pay day, of course. That goes without even needing to be questioned, but he is one of the best players in the competition and has the ability to make the club competitive instantly.
There is a real chance his relationship with Mal Meninga drives him into at the very least discussing his future and whether a move to the Western Australian capital to finish his career is a good call.
Tino Fa'asuamaleaui is the other player the club simply must target.
He is one of the best forwards in the game, an Origin and international representative, and while he too would be an expensive target, it feels as if, when you look at the full list of players currently out of their contracts at the end of 2026, he is a must sign.
Beyond that though, depth is the order of the day for the Bears.
Sign two marquee players, one in the backs and one in the props, and then find players who will fit the culture Meninga is going to be building - one that must be based on work ethic and commitment to development of a franchise.
The answers don't immediately present themselves, but players who the new club will be able to get for a decent price, but will add to their on-field performance, and players who simply can't get a crack in the top grade at the moment with their current outfits.
A focus on youth must also be the way to go for the Bears, where players will take a chance on a new club and the move across the country.
They need their own version of Isaiya Katoa, essentially, who has been the Dolphins' best signing despite coming to the club as a no-name to those who don't follow the junior progression around New South Wales.
Players like the developing Nathan Lawson or Chris Vea'ila in the backs, the potential to target a spine player like Jye Gray who could still be behind Latrell Mitchell at Souths, or adding hard workers in the middle third like Hohepa Puru, Liam Le Blanc, Blake Steep, Jack Todd at Ata Mariota.
None of those players jump off the page as bona fide stars of the game yet, but potentially would all take the risk to head west and further their careers without breaking the bank.
There are certainly more players who will be in the sights of the Bears, but they must make every signing approach with purpose, and find players who will add to the culture as the Dolphins did.
There was no way the first year Dolphins side should have been in the mix for the top eight.
That's the hard truth.
And yet, work ethic, strong coaching and a desire to prove the doubters wrong allowed them to do just that.
The Bears must build the same way, with the hopeful addition of some marquee stars that the Dolphins couldn't deliver.
Do that, and they are a chance to be competitive straight away.
