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.
Schneider has joined the Panthers after a brief stint in England, and might be the most realistic option of this group to join Nathan Cleary in the halves come the start of the 2025 campaign.
He will play second fiddle during 2024, but that gives him 12 months to learn the club, the systems, and what it takes to be a success.
Schneider impressed during his time for the Canberra Raiders, and even more so in England. He will only continue to improve as he develops, and it seems a very solid fit.
He is probably more of a number seven than a six, which will have to be weighed up, but he can certainly play both, and if he spends 12 months gearing himself towards taking over Luai's spot, then anything is possible on his potential.
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.
Another ex-Tiger, but one who has already joined the Panthers is Daine Laurie.
The role he plays for the club at the foot of the mountains in 2024 is going to be intriguing to watch. A fullback at the Tigers, he fell well and truly out of favour during the back end of his time at Concord under now dispatched coach Tim Sheens.
He found himself learning the craft of five-eighth though during the second half of the season, and spent some time there particularly at reserve grade level.
The Panthers have clearly signed him with two uses in mind, to fill in at either fullback or five-eighth, but don't be surprised if his time in the number six, either at first-grade or reserve grade level, is spent as something of an audition for a contract and number six jumper into 2025.
If the Panthers do go internal in searching for a Luai replacement, then they have plenty of options.
Schneider and Laurie may be joining the club for 2024, but it's Jack Cole who would have had his eye on a spot in Penrith's halves for many years.
The intriguing thing for Cole is that he has more than one position on his resume. A five-eighth by trade, he spent his fair chunk of 2023 in the centres for Penrith's NSW Cup side.
That ultimately means Ivan Cleary may elect to use him in a different manner, but the long-term planning at Penrith knows no bounds, and Cole taking over from Luai seems to be the most natural fit that there is come the start of the 2025 campaign.
If the Panthers do look outside the club, then they could potentially do a lot worse than looking to acquire the signature of off-contract Newcastle Knights five-eighhth Tyson Gamble.
The former Bronco was solid enough in his first season as a Knight, and ticks a lot of boxes that the Panthers would ultimately have on their checklist. He has size, strength, runs the ball well and defends solidly for a half.
If the Panthers head into the 2025 campaign unsure of their options, Gamble is also someone they could use in other roles, namely as a bench utility. He certainly has the ability to spend time at either dummy half or lock if the situation arises.
That makes him a signable player, and he does seem like a player who, in a good system under good coaching, would improve dramatically.
Metcalf is another half off-contract at the end of 2024, and could well consider his options to move back to Australia pending on how 2024 plays out at the Warriors.
The Warriors, who have signed Chanel Harris-Tavita to make his NRL return, have a bundle of players, including Te Maire Martin and Ronald Volkman, who will also be in competition for spots in the halves.
That means, particularly given his injury issues, that Metcalf is no guarantee of running out with his teammates on a consistent basis in 2024.
Metcalf certainly didn't move to Auckland to play reserve grade though, and an opportunity to play for a winning system alongside Nathan Cleary could well be too good to refuse if a contract ends up on the table.
Off-contract at the end of the 2024 season, Gray, who was born in Liverpool and has plenty of big raps on him, may be a little bit too raw for 2025, but if he develops quickly, would be a very strong fit for the Panthers.
Even if he were to head to the club in a back-up role, he is a player who is sure to have plenty of clubs chasing his signature if the Rabbitohs can't tie him down quickly.
In fact, it's somewhat of an oddity that they haven't yet - Cody Walker is likely to retire at the end of his current deal, which expires at the end of 2025, and Gray must be in the running to replace him.
But don't be surprised if the interest from around the competition in the coming months at least gets Gray thinking about his future - and the opportunity to go and play in a winning system while learning from Nathan Cleary and co may be too good to pass up.