The NRL silly season has officially arrived!
Although the 2026 NRL season has only just wrapped up, teams (and fans) are already looking toward 2028.
From today, a plethora of incredible talent is officially off-contract and discussions can be held for 2028 and beyond.
I don't think it's hyperbole to suggest that this is the best crop of talent to come off-contract in many years.
RELATED: NOVEMBER 1 NRL CONTRACT BIBLE
Below we have named the top 12 targets for teams to target from today. We have tried to keep the targets realistic and thus have excluded the players reported to re-sign soon. Of course things change and any of these players could also end up leaving.
All the players below have either been linked elsewhere or have reportedly opted to test the market. Thus we believe they are realistic targets.
The list of talent who did not make the list is ridiculous. Says a lot about the players who are listed below.
Here are the top 12 players to target from November first.
Not considered: Nathan Cleary, Latrell Mitchell, Xavier Willison, David Fifita, Victor Radley
4. Bradman Best
I can't see a world in which Best doesn't re-sign with the Knights but given Ponga, Brown and Sharpe are all on big dollars, I can see why Best is testing the market.
He could walk into a host of teams. I actually expect this one to drag on a while, unless a club is able to offer ridiculous money and opportunity right away.
The Tigers, Tigers, Broncos, Eels, Sharks, Sea Eagles and Roosters are all super easy links. Newcastle will want to get this done ASAP.
