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.

4. Canberra Raiders

The Raiders are in far less need for halves now than what they were even a fortnight ago.

Ethan Sanders might have a lot to learn, but he has started the season strongly enough to suggest he has what it takes to become a very good NRL player.

It's something of a sigh of relief that will be being breathed in the nation's capital. They made the call mid-way through last season that they wanted an experienced halfback to replace Fogarty rather than Sanders, and that had more to do with Sanders' NSW Cup form than anyone would care to admit.

While Coby Black is also in the system, there is a real chance that the moves for their current young halfbacks don't actually work out.

You could argue as well that, outside of Tom Starling who is now in the prime of his career, things aren't really working out at number nine either.

Watch this space.