The South Sydney Rabbitohs are reportedly not in a rush to offer Alex Johnston a new deal, and would consider releasing him early if another club came knocking.
The winger, who ruptured his Achilles at the back end of the 2024 campaign and could be racing the clock to be fit in time for Round 1 in 2025, is off-contract at the end of the coming season.
The Papua New Guinea representative is one of the NRL's most prolific try-scorers, and could be on track to break Ken Irvine's famous record before he hangs up the boots.
Whether he does that at the Rabbitohs or not remains to be seen though, with Johnston's future now likely to be in the hands of Wayne Bennett as he arrives at Maroubra for a second stint in charge of the foundation club.
According to News Corp, Johnston has not yet been offered a new deal by the Rabbitohs for 2026 and beyond, with the club's heirarchy keen to see how he returns from his long injury lay-off before making a call.
Johnston has been able to negotiate with rival clubs since November 1, and the report suggests that is already underway, with the winger's management heading to the open market.
Other clubs have reportedly since placed Johnston on their radar, and he could well wind up being squeezed out of South Sydney a season early if one of the other clubs asks the question.
At this stage, it's unclear how many, or who, the other clubs are, but there are plenty of clubs who need a big-name winger for 2026 and beyond with money to burn.
South Sydney do have a salary cap balancing act to perform given their top heavy squad, although the loss of Damien Cook this off-season to the St George Illawarra Dragons certainly helps that equation.
The 29-year-old has scored 195 NRL tries in 227 games, to go with three in ten for Papua New Guinea, while he also represented Australia once in 2015, and has played four games for the Indigenous All Stars.