For literally months now we have heard speculation in the Hunter that Daniel Saifiti may be secretly being shopped to other clubs.
With the club's sensational late-season run, the talk seemed to go away. Perhaps a "isn't broken, don't fix it" mentality?
Now that the season has ended though, the rumours have seemingly been turned up to eleven, with the Origin prop again linked with a move.
With Newcastle potentially looking to move him on, below are five alternate, and likely destinations for the monster prop:
4. St George Illawarra Dragons
The Dragons will be linked with every off contract player for the next season-or-so. Rightfully so too.
Daniel Saifiti is a player the Dragons should be all in on.
Blake Lawrie played a lone hand in the middle far too often in 2023. He sure could use some help making metres and making tackles.
Ben Hunt and the incoming Kyle Flanagan need a far superior platform laid by their big men this season. A repeat of 2023 will surely lead to yet another bottom half finish.
I can't see cap space being an issue. I don't know where that Dragons side could even approach the cap. If they are under stress, players can be moved on en mass.
A starting middle of Saifiti and Lawrie looks far more intimidating than any combination the Dragons ran out in 2023.
The Dragons need two things right now. Ben Hunt to commit to the club and a big name signing to get fans excited for, hopefully a brighter future.
My worry is that the Dragons will overpay for bit-part players out of necessity but a signing of Saifiti's quality immediately sends a positive message.
If the Sharks have no money – having squandered it all on upgrading their existing squad, then the coach and the Recruitment & Retention guys need to be shown the door.