We may be deep into an off-season that feels as though it will never end, but rugby league never sleeps.
North Queensland Cowboys fans, having just endured a horror 2025 season, have been dealt a huge blow in the past 24 hours.
QLD, Kangaroos and Samoan star Murray Taulagi's time at the club looks as though it is set to end at the completion of the 2026 season.
Reports indicate the player and club look set for a split as the Cowboys look to use his salary elsewhere.
I doubt he'll be without a club for very long. In fact compiling this list was one of the easiest I've ever seen.
Here are six potential landing spots for Murray Taulagi:
4. New Zealand Warriors
Auckland born Taulagi could be set for a move back across the Tasman for 2027 and beyond.
With Roger Tuivasa-Sheck heavily linked with a move to R360, the Warriors will be on the look out for a big name replacement.
Taulagi fits that mould to almost perfection. Taulagi is three kilos heavier and the same height. They could almost literally swap jerseys.
RTS is known for monster run metre stats. Taulagi averaged 177 metres per game in 2025. Prior to that he averaged 166 in 2024 and 154 in 2023.
Words simply can't do justice to how easy this switch from RTS to Taulagi would be for the Warriors.
What we see here is the failure of the NRL to devise and implement a workable transfer system. The clubs you have identified, Dan, want a winger _today_ not in twelve months’ time.
With no defined mechanism in place for transferring players, any transfer must be ad-hoc. Too hard for most clubs to invent, each time they want to see if they can pick up a player who is currently contracted.