The NRL's "silly season" is nearing full swing.
In just over two months, every player off-contract at the end of 2026 will be able to negotiate with rival clubs.
The ever-changing landscape of NRL contracts, with players signing with rivals or negotiating with them, means that we could well see players changing clubs in November for 2027, despite a full season still to run on their current deals.
That is simply the nature of the beast.
We have run the rule over where every club stands ahead of November 1, their current 2027 squads, the players they need to lock up, and the players who are likely to hit the open market.
With the Perth Bears to enter the competition as well, hitting the open market with a blank cheque book and 30 spots to fill, it's going to be the biggest free agency scramble since the arrival of the Dolphins.
Here is the rundown for your club's needs over the next ten weeks.
You can use the drop-down menu to navigate by club.
Melbourne Storm
Current 2027 squad
Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Joe Chan, Sua Fa'alogo, Jack Howarth, Jahrome Hughes, Eliesa Katoa, Josh King, Trent Loiero, Alec MacDonald, Cameron Munster, Josiah Pahulu, Jonah Pezet, Stefano Utoikamanu
Current 2027 best 17
1. Sua Fa'alogo
2. No player signed.
3. Jack Howarth
4. No player signed.
5. No player signed.
6. Cameron Munster
7. Jahrome Hughes
8. Stefano Utoikamanu
9. No player signed.
10. Josh King
11. Joe Chan
12. Eliesa Katoa
13. Trent Loiero
Interchange
14. Jonah Pezet
15. Nelson Asofa-Solomona
16. Alec MacDonald
17. Josiah Pahulu
Off-contract players
End of 2025: Dean Ieremia, Tui Kamikamica (club option), Ativalu Lisati, Marion Seve, Lazarus Vaalepu, Tyran Wishart (club option)
End of 2026: Shawn Blore, Xavier Coates, Harry Grant, Moses Leo (club option), Nick Meaney, Ryan Papenhuyzen (mutual option), Will Warbrick
What needs doing
One of the major issues for Melbourne is that they won't be able to determine what they need to build around before November 1.
Cameron Munster could well be released to the Perth Bears, but the NRL's newest club can't actually contact him until the calendar ticks over.
That, of course, brings us to the point of asking why a new club wouldn't have an advantage in that space, but that's another question for another day.
Taking into account that Munster may actually stay, and that they have already taken up the club option on Tyran Wishart, who is otherwise off-contract at the end of 2025, they will be looking ahead of the group of players off-contract at the end of next year.
There are a group there that will be targeted from the word go.
Harry Grant is maybe the biggest name among them, but Ryan Papenhuyzen, Xavier Coates and even Nick Meaney, who has been one of Melbourne's most consistent performers since he moved from the Bulldogs, would likely be chased by rival clubs.
Will Warbrick and Shawn Blore are the others in the group, while Moses Leo has a club option.
The Storm could likely comfortably wait until after November 1 to determine their intentions with those names.
The other thing to note here with Melbourne is that Munster and Papenhuyzen's contracts are likely tied directly to the futures of Jonah Pezet and Sua Fa'alogo, so there could be more changes than anyone realises coming to the Victorian capital in the coming months.
Certainly, they will be one of the more intriguing clubs to monitor.
Sharks also have the (perennially injured) Kade Dykes off contract at the end of 2025