It is becoming clear that Canterbury Bulldogs forward Josh Curran will not be at the club beyond the end of his current contract.

The forward, who was one an outsider for the State of Origin selection discussion during his time at the New Zealand Warriors, can play in the middle or on the edge, and moved to Belmore ahead of the 2024 campaign.

Now with 106 NRL games under his belt, his role actively seemed to go backwards at Belmore during 2026, and with a host of young forwards both in the middle and on the edge pushing through the system, there is a good chance the club simply won't have the capacity or need to extend his contract.

The four-time Indigenous All Star is talented and experienced though, so will likely have no shortage of suitors on the open market should he look that way for 2027.

Here are the most likely landing spots for the forward.

4. North Queensland Cowboys

The Cowboys are one club who might head for significant change at the end of 2026.

Already for 2026 they have lost forwards Jordan McLean, Karl Lawton, fringe player Emarly Bitungane, and star dummy half Reece Robson.

While Reed Mahoney takes that ledger, and they have added Matthew Lodge and James Walsh to their forward pack, there is a real chance Todd Payten will look to revitalise his squad.

That could well see the club make a play for Josh Curran, who, critically, won't break the bank.

North Queensland have plenty of big-money deals out in their (limited) 2027 squad, led by those for Tom Dearden and Scott Drinkwater, so making a play for Curran makes sense on a number of levels.