The Manly Sea Eagles interest in out of favour Canberra Raiders dummy half Tom Starling has hit a roadblock, with salary cap and roster spots becoming an issue.
The Sea Eagles want Starling at the club in 2027, with the hooker first revealed to have an informal agreement to be able to leave the Canberra Raiders before the start of next year earlier this week.
"What's happened with Tommy Starling? There's a bit of chat he's coming to Sydney," former player Bryan Fletcher said earlier this week on SEN Radio.
"I'm hearing Manly Sea Eagles."
In maybe the most tell-tale sign, Jarrod Croker, who shared the panel with Fletcher and is still involved with Canberra, admitted Owen Pattie isn't going to be going anywhere from Canberra's number nine jumper anytime soon.
Pattie left Starling playing around 20 minutes a game during the back-end of the 2026 season, and his role will continue to go from strength to strength.
Canberra will also be keen to promote young guns Shaun Packer and Mitchell Brophy over the coming years, adding to the discourse around Starling's imminent departure.
The original report has quickly been followed up by others, with News Corp reporting the move is likely if the Sea Eagles can clear salary cap space.
As it stands, Manly have just three spots left in their Top 30 for next year, while the Raiders have nine.
The Sea Eagles have minimal wiggle room in their salary cap though, and it's understood a player swap could be tabled.
Zero Tackle have learnt Jake Simpkin could head the other way, despite being contracted for next year on the Northern Beaches.
Brandon Wakeham's name has also been floated, although it's believed he is about to sign a two-year contract extension.
The other name is Luke Brooks.
He is, like Starling in Canberra, about to spend 2027 on the outside looking in, with the five-eighth to be kept out of first-grade by Joey Walsh, who Manly are desperate to get more game time into.
Walsh is an outstanding rising talent, and while Brooks would play back-up to both he and halfback Jamal Fogarty, there is a very real world where, if Manly play to their potential under Kieran Foran and injuries don't strike, he doesn't play a minute of first-grade this coming season.
The situation may not be all that different in Canberra, given Ethan Strange and Ethan Sanders are at the club, and Coby Black debuted in the final round this year.
When Fogarty left Canberra, it was understood Ricky Stuart wanted to bring in an experienced halfback, and while the first half of 2026 probably showed why, the appetite for that has now decreased.
A player swap for either Simpkin - who like Starling would only play off the bench in Canberra - or Brooks is just one option, with other clubs potentially also lining up to take one of the Manly duo away from the club which could free up the salary cap space needed.
While it's unclear at this stage whether any inquiries have been fielded for either player, both the halves and hooker are spots in high demand around the competition, with supply of quality players limited.
It's not expected an agreement will be reached anytime soon, but all indications are that it would be a surprise to see Starling in Canberra by the time the first ball is kicked in anger next year.
