Star Parramatta Eels halfback Mitchell Moses is yet to confirm his future, but his teammates want him to stay in the west of Sydney.
The wait for Moses to decide his future is making fans more and more jumpy at the Eels, with plenty of clubs rumoured to be in hot pursuit of the star.
That list is led by the Canterbury Bulldogs, where director of football Phil Gould and new head coach Cameron Ciraldo continue to strengthen the club's roster.
On top of the signings they have made in both 2022 and 2023 - including Moses' former Parramatta teammate Reed Mahoney who will take over from the departed Jeremy Marshall-King at dummy half - the club are rumoured to be in pursuit of Stephen Crichton.
The Panthers' star centre who wants to play fullback has officially told Penrith he won't be at the foot of the mountains from the start of the 2024 season, and it's understood the Bulldogs are the club leading the race for his services.
Moses linking up with a team featuring the likes of Mahoney, Crichton and Matt Burton could create something of a super team, but Eels' co-captain Junior Paulo told the media on Monday that he has been in Moses' ear about re-signing at the club.
"We've been into him," Paulo told reporters.
"We'd definitely love for him to stay. He's been a big part of this club and building what we've been able to create over the past couple of years.
"He's a big driving factor for our team and we can definitely see what he's been able to achieve over the past couple of years and how far his game's gone."
Adding to the complexity of the situation is Parramatta's salary cap and squad balance, with five-eighth Dylan Brown signing a long-term deal made up primarily of player options that could keep him in blue and gold until at least the end of 2031.
The Eels' salary cap is in a far better position than it was at the end of the 2021 season though, when they had 17 players free to negotiate with rivals at the same time.
Parramatta shed some talent in that negotiation battle, however, all attention is now with Moses given other stars Paulo, Brown and Clint Gutherson, among others, are locked up long-term.
