The Penrith Panthers will be in the market - whether internally or externally - for a new five-eighth from the start of the 2025 season.
The rugby league world doesn't reward those who sit on their hands and wait though, with the open market for those players - as Jarome Luai was - off-contract at the end of 2024 already well and truly alive and kicking.
Luai, who has signed with the Tigers, will fill a giant hole at Concord, but leaves one at Penrith.
He might be one of the most maligned players in the competition, regularly criticised for his antics both on and off the field, but he has been the number six in three back-to-back premierships, and has been excellent in all of them at various points.
Penrith's record when Nathan Cleary has been injured has been phenomenal really, and that in itself shuts down any of the talk levelled at Luai that he simply isn't on the same standard.
At club level, he is a fantastic player, and someone Penrith clearly wanted to retain given their offer towards him, even though it was never going to be able to match what the Wests Tigers had laid on the table.
What Penrith do next could help shape their future, but it's a decision which will have a number of factors to it, the biggest being money. With Luai disappearing, there is not a chance in the world Penrith will want to pay through the nose to sign anybody in his position now.
Add to that, they will be joining an elite system which has a habit of making players look better than they are, and the questions over whether they will look externally or internally for a replacement will rise.
There are options on both sides of the coin though, so here are the seven best options available in no particular order.
2. Adam Doueihi
There have been rumours linking the Panthers with a potential pursuit of Adam Doueihi for months, although nothing has ever come to be very solid.
That said, Doueihi's spot at the Tigers looks less and less secure. Out with an injury for much of the 2024 season after missing a chunk of 2023, the utility who wants to play five-eighth is unlikely to be doing that in 2025 at the Tigers.
Luai's signature, as well as the emergence of Latu Fainu, and Jayden Sullivan's pursuit of a spot will see to it that Benji Marshall finds other ways to use Doueihi if he remains a Tiger.
Off-contract at the end of 2024, Doueihi will likely find himself looking for a new club if he wants to play the five-eighth role, and that could easily be the Panthers if they want to go with an experienced option in replacing Luai.
Whether the money they want to spend matches with Doueihi's ambitions for his next contract though remains to be seen.
