Surprise news broke this week that South Sydney Rabbitohs halfback Jamie Humphreys may be on the move at the end of the 2026 NRL season.
As the story goes, Humphreys was in negotiations with South Sydney and close to agreeing to a new deal, but that all changed when Payne Haas agreed to join the club for 2027 and beyond.
South Sydney would have been preparing a fairly substantial monetary outlay for Keaon Koloamatangi of course, but to land Haas would have seen more of their already fragile salary cap used.
Latrell Mitchell and Cameron Murray lead the rest of the big deals around the club, and while Cody Walker could retire at the end of the year freeing up some extra dollars, the story around Humphreys is not exactly a monstrous surprise.
Someone was always going to be squeezed out by the arrival of Haas, althoug it being your halfback is probably less than ideal for South Sydney.
He may still find a way to get a deal over the line, but that looks increasingly unlikely, and there is a good chance he will be elsewhere come kick-off in 2027.
Here are the clubs who will be doing more than just keeping minor tabs on the situation, keeping in mind that he can play halfback and hooker.
2. Perth Bears
This is the no-brainer on the list, and you'd be hard-pressed to find any arguments with it.
The Bears are going to be, understandably, linked to every player who comes off-contract, looks like they are going to leave, or aren't enjoying life between now and November.
That'll be the same case once November ticks over with the PNG Chiefs, but given Humphreys is off-contract at the end of the year, there is a fairly easy focus on the Bears here.
As it stands, the Bears likely starting halves are Toby Sexton and Tyran Wishart, while they don't actually have a dummy half.
Either Wishart or Humphreys could slot into the number nine, while Humphreys could also be viewed as the halfback over Sexton - although that's a tricky equation to put together.
Mal Meninga must surely have already picked up the phone.
