Cameron Munster's departure from the Melbourne Storm is looking more and more likely by the day.
A report this week suggests the star five-eighth, who has been one of the competition's form players this year, has recently knocked back an offer from the Storm to remain at the club beyond the end of 2023.
It's hardly a surprise that it's come to that.
The Storm's salary cap is undeniably bloated at the top end, with Jahrome Hughes, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Harry Grant all recently signing on the dotted line for big-money extensions.
The crush for high-skilled targets is immense in the competition, and even more so thanks to the entry of the Dolphins in 2023, who have reportedly offered Munster more than $1 million per season.
Munster's manager Braith Anasta didn't exactly shy away from the fact he will hit the open market from November 1 either, and while he won't be losing the Storm before the end of 2023, Anasta admitted at least three or four clubs have already expressed interest in the star.
So, with his future in Melbourne looking chequered at best, where could the Queensland and Australian star wind up?
Here are the five most likely potential options.
The Titans have already signed Kieran Foran for the 2023 season, but a player like Munster could be exactly what the club needs to push reset.
They sit equal last on the table, and it's clear what coach Justin Holbrook has tried this year simply hasn't worked, no matter what he has thrown at it.
AJ Brimson's move to the halves hasn't worked, Foran is a short-term solution at best, and other young halves like Toby Sexton, Paul Turner and Tanah Boyd have struggled to come on in leaps and bounds as they may have been expected to in what was a completely new look and inexperienced spine for the 2022 campaign.
That's not to say they can't get improvement next year with Foran's arrival, but a 2024 combination of Foran and Munster is mouth-watering for the Titans, while Munster would also bring plenty of additional experience and talent to the club just from being in the Storm system and having been coached by Craig Bellamy that the club are cleary lacking.
The chance of Munster ending up on the Coast is remote, but the Titans must make a big-game play for a big name to kickstart the club and turn fortunes around.
The Dragons are currently weighing up re-signing Ben Hunt beyond the end of 2023 when his contract expires, as well as grappling with the future of a number of young guns, including halves Talatau Amone and Jayden Sullivan.
Amone has been improving just about with every passing week, but the bottom line is that the Dragons still sit outside the top eight and desperately need a firestarter to the club's future success.
At the moment, even if Hunt does re-sign, it doesn't look like it's coming from within the club.
Hunt's form has obviously been fantastic this year, and he is a favourite for the Dally M Medal despite his club sitting outside the top eight, but there is no guarantee he re-signs.
Munster and Hunt would be a staggering halves combination at club level, but the idea that Muster could potentially turn the Dragons around is not far-fetched if the Red V made a big-money play for the star ahead of the 2024 campaign, whether that be as a Hunt replacement, or a Hunt complement.
The Tigers are a club who haven't played finals football in ten years. That, to put it simply, means that whatever they have been doing, hasn't been working, and it's time to push the big green reset button.
It's something the club have, for the most part at least, seemed relatively incapable of doing.
Luke Brooks has been running around for eight years and is the most-capped player without an NRL finals game, while other players who have been signed simply haven't worked for the joint venture anywhere near how they were supposed to when signing on.
Adam Doueihi is the likely number six in 2023, but he is also off-contract at the end of 2023 and could also play at fullback or in the centres.
Jock Madden is rated as a future star, but is yet to be re-signed, while Jackson Hastings appears to be shaping up to play at lock in the future rather than in the halves.
At any rate, clubs like the Tigers should be moving heaven and earth for a player like Munster.
That is the short, the skinny and the final line of it all. If there is a chance for Munster to wear black, white and orange, then the club must pursue it with every fibre of their being.
The Storm are still a chance of hanging onto Munster - that much is absolutely for certain.
Anasta said on NRL 360 on Wednesday evening that Munster "loves it in Melbourne" and "would absolutely take unders" to remain at the club.
The only problem as it stands right now is that those "unders" may be to the tune of around $400,000 per season - something that no one could blame Munster for knocking back.
Over the course of three seasons, that is more than $1 million dollars.
It also must hurt Munster slightly that the club have decided to prioritise Ryan Papenhuyzen, Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant ahead of his own services, given he is the most experienced of the quartet and arguably, has shown the best and most consistent form this year.
The Storm still want Munster, evidenced by their call to not release him for 2023, and they will want him beyond that, but right now, it looks rather difficult.
The Dolphins are building, and while they won't be able to bring Munster in for the 2023 season as they so clearly wanted, Wayne Bennett has appeared confident that Munster will be at Redcliffe by the start of 2024.
It's hard to mount a major argument against it either all things considered.
The Dolphins have mountains of salary cap space available, a location in Queensland that Munster would love to return to, and a coach Munster would love to play for.
The whole thing just makes sense if Munster ultimately does elect to head to Redcliffe for the 2024 season.
There are other options, but for Munster to go to the Dolphins and lead the expansion team as they continue to build signings into their second season could be something special to watch.
The verdict
The Dolphins are clearly the favourites here, and are likely to land Munster's signature.
It's hard to see him heading to Sydney, but if the value was that much of a difference as has been reported, and if the Dolphins weren't to be the location for him, then the Titans could be sitting in third spot in the race for Munster if they make a proper play.
The Dragons and Tigers desperately need a player of his stature, but it's hard to see it happening.