The Dolphins have spent much of the week in the news, with the NRL's 17th club facing their biggest challenge since they first joined the NRL in the lead-up to November 1.
Kristian Woolf and his staff have built one of the NRL's most talented - and most exciting - playing rosters over the last few years, but as it stands, the club have a staggering 15 players off-contract at the end of 2027.
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Included in that list are a number of top-tier stars who could be in for significant pay bumps. Guys who signed their last deal as a relative unknown, and are now either representative players, or banging on the door of being so.
One of those is Jack Bostock, with the towering centre and winger earning a call up to the NSW Blues side during this year's State of Origin series.
The Dolphins star is one of a few who it has been indicated will be testing the open market on November 1, and while the club have expressed that they want to keep everyone, the simple, cold hard reality of the situation is that it seems unlikely.
With rising salaries, the threat of expansion clubs and tax-free dollars from PNG, and the player pool becoming skinnier compared to the number of spots available as the NRL line up three years of back-to-back-to-back expansion, someone, or potentially multiple players, are going to leave the Redcliffe-based club.
With that in mind, and the race to November 1 on, here are the clubs who could make a play for Bostock once we get to that date.
1. Perth Bears
The Bears might be entering the competition in 2027, before Bostock is off-contract, but to say things have gone to plan in building their squad would be an outright lie.
The club have 26 players locked up, and while head coach Mal Meninga is outwardly maintaining a positive perception of the squad he has built, the objective analysis says they are going to struggle.
This is a club who need to get back on the open market heading into 2027, and outside backs will be on the list.
Bostock is a player they could build the club around for years to come, and someone they need to throw the kitchen sink and then some at.
If I were Bostock, I wouldn’t go to PNG to live in a compound or to Perth to spend ten+ hours on a plane every other weekend.
Brisbane would be handy, but that team’s recent recruitment wouldn’t enthuse me, nor would the club culture.
Wests and Parramatta don’t seem to have a clear idea of where they are going.
St George – with its 2027 signings and retentions – would seem to be easily the most attractive option.