The Manly Sea Eagles will head to the November 1 deadline with significant questions, but not a whole lot of wiggle room within their salary cap.
More than 20 players have already been signed for 2025, and some of those - the Trbojevic brothers, Daly Cherry-Evans, Haumole Olakau'atu and Josh Schuster among them - on significant coin.
That leaves the club still needing to pick up a few pieces of their long-term puzzle as they look for a full blown rebuild and chase of a return to the finals under Anthony Seibold, but in a tricky balancing act.
2026 is likely to be the bigger moving year for Manly, particularly if Daly Cherry-Evans decides to hang up the boots, but for now, Zero Tackle will investigate what the club can reasonably expect and need for 2025 as we run the rule over every club ahead of November 1 in this series.
Current squad for 2025
Josh Aloiai, Jake Arthur, Luke Brooks, Ethan Bullemor, Daly Cherry-Evans, Ben Condon, Reuben Garrick, Aitasi James, Tolutau Koula, Dean Matterson, Haumole Olakau'atu, Brad Parker, Taniela Paseka, Jaxson Paulo, Jason Saab, Josh Schuster, Toafofoa Sipley, Tommy Talau, Jake Trbojevic, Tom Trbojevic, Christian Tuipulotu
Current best 17 for 2025
1. Tom Trbojevic
2. Reuben Garrick
3. Tolutau Koula
4. Brad Parker
5. Jason Saab
6. Luke Brooks
7. Daly Cherry-Evans
8. Taniela Paseka
9. No player signed.
10. Toafofoa Sipley
11. Haumole Olakau'atu
12. Josh Schuster
13. Jake Trbojevic
14. Jake Arthur
15. Ethan Bullemor
16. Josh Aloiai
17. Dean Matterson
Players not in 17: Ben Condon, Aitasi James, Jaxson Paulo, Tommy Talau, Christian Tuipulotu
Players off-contract at end of 2024
Gordon Chan Kum Tong, Lachlan Croker, Zac Fulton, Karl Lawton, Ben Trbojevic, Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega, Corey Waddell
Here are five players available to negotiate on November 1 from outside of the club the Sea Eagles could target for 2025 and beyond.
EVERY PLAYER OFF-CONTRACT AT THE END OF 2024
2. Jai Arrow
A more expensive option, Arrow is a middle who can play on the edge, and an edge who can play on the middle. Competent - and more than that - at both positions, he would bring a world of much-needed talent and experience to the Sea Eagles forward pack.
It's no secret that I like Arrow as a footy player. He is no-nonsense, hard-hitting, and can churn out big minutes with the same level of production and quality in the last as he did in the first.
The more he goes through his career, the more he adds to his abilities, and while it's difficult to say his best slot, he would serve as a very handy option in both the middle and second-row, particularly if Josh Schuster's move back there doesn't bring the results he had during his rookie 2021 season when Manly made a preliminary final.
As mentioned, he wouldn't come cheap, but he is one of those players who is worth the kitchen sink in a trade period like this one.
Topine in preference to Simpkin for me. More to the point, the Dogs seem to always be on the lookout for someone new, and maybe they could be persuaded to let him go immediately just to get some more cap available.