The reports this week that Israel Folau was first in talks with the Wests Tigers, then had three or four interested clubs, came as one of the bigger rugby league shocks of the year.
There is no doubting the talent of Folau at his prime.
Maybe one of the most gifted athletes the sport has ever seen, the outside back scored 36 tries in 52 games for the Melbourne Storm, and another 37 in 39 games for the Brisbane Broncos before departing for the AFL at the end of 2010 as a marquee recruit for the GWS Giants as the sport looked to establish a stronghold in Western Sydney.
That two-year stint was an abject failure, but his time in rugby union afterwards between 2013 and 2019 wasn't, with the fullback, wing and centre scoring 60 tries in 96 games for the Waratahs, and 37 in 73 Tests for the Wallabies.
Controversy followed the end of his time in rugby union, and while he then had a short stint with Catalans and Japanese rugby, it was thought Folau's professional sporting career - now at the age of 37 - was done and dusted.
But reports he is looking for an NRL opportunity are a shock.
The thing is though, from a club's point of view, it could be almost a risk-free punt on a guy who played five State of Origins for Queensland and eight Test matches for Australia by the time he left the NRL at the age of 21.
A train and trial deal doesn't cost a club a roster spot, it doesn't cost a heap of money, and could provide some back-up if he works out starting in the NSW Cup.
If it doesn't, then there is nothing lost, they cut ties at the end of the year and move on in their own respective directions.
So, which clubs could conceivably be in the mix for Folau?
6. Brisbane Broncos
We start with one of Folau's former clubs in the Broncos.
Michael Maguire's side do have enough outside backs to get through this season, but their form is raising plenty of eyebrows just at the moment.
Last year's premiers are closer to the bottom four than the top four and have lost six matches on the bounce - including a horror first half against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in their most recent collapse.
Prior to that, they lost to the NRL's two worst teams - and comfortably - in the St George Illawarra Dragons and Gold Coast Titans.
The Broncos may not want to go for panic stations, but it would make sense for the club to have a chat to a player they used to call their own.
Folau could, potentially, be interested in being located in Brisbane, too, a place he has spent plenty of time throughout his life.
