Parramatta Eels' gun forward Isaiah Papali'i has reportedly knocked back an offer from The Dolphins.
The NRL's newest club, who will join the competition in 2023, were believed to have tabled a mammoth contract offer for Papali'i to be one of their marquee signings for 2023.
The star second-rower is off-contract at the Eels at the end of 2022, and has reportedly declined a previous offer from the club to test the open market.
The Eels' offer was rumoured to be a small upgrade for 2022, before two further years at around $400,000 per year.
One of the bargain buys of 2021, Papali'i went from a fringe first-grader who the Eels signed for a reported figure of around $140,000 per season to the second-rower of the year who could sign his next deal on a salary of around $600,000 per season.
Alongside the Eels and Dolphins, the Wests Tigers are also rumoured to be interested in Papali'i.
It would appear the Concord-based club may not be able to hang onto Luciano Leilua, and have earmarked Papali'i as his potential replacement.
Michael Maguire's struggling side have shot to the front of the queue as well, with Papali'i's manager Daniel O'Loughlin telling Wide World of Sports that he wants to stay in Sydney, all but ruling the Dolphins out of contention.
"Isaiah is settled in Sydney with his family and prefers to stay here," O'Loughlin said.
That means it could be down to the Eels and Tigers for his services, with O'Loughlin also confirming that Papali'i will give the Eels last chance to retain his services beyond the end of 2022.
"The Tigers are very keen but he also feels a loyalty to Parramatta so will probably give them the last say," he said.
"I think they are meeting this week so we will see what they come up with."
The Eels however may not be able to afford an enticing enough upgrade for Papali'i given their salary cap squeeze. While Marata Niukore has left the club, they still have 15 players off-contract at the end of 2022.
Names include Reed Mahoney, Clint Gutherson, Ryan Matterson and Junior Paulo, while Dylan Brown and Maika Sivo also have player options in their favour.
At this stage, the only re-signing Parramatta have made for 2023 and beyond is star prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard.