Despite losing new arrival Corey Allan to a season-ending ACL injury and having roster spots available, the St George Illawarra Dragons will not show any interest in signing recently terminated winger David Nofoaluma.
The 192-game player, who has been at the Tigers since 2013 but has had a tumultuous last 24 months at the club, was finally terminated by mutual consent on Tuesday.
While Nofoaluma could have fronted a board meeting on Wednesday evening over two breaches that have been handed to him by the club in recent times, he instead elected to accept a $300,000 payout for the final two years of his contract.
It means that the winger is now a free agent late in the pre-season, and it's believed he will explore his options both in the NRL and in the English Super League.
However, what is unclear is just how many options he will have available. The Tigers had been attempting to offload Nofoaluma for two years but failed during the process despite the fact he even went to the Melbourne Storm on loan at one point during the back-end of the 2022 season.
The Dragons were immediately floated as one of the possible options for Nofoaluma, however, according to News Corp's David Riccio, that won't be happening.
The club will likely start the season with Tyrell Sloan at fullback, Mikaele Ravalawa and Mat Feagai on the wings, and Zac Lomax to be joined by Moses Suli in the centres as life begins under Shane Flanagan.
That makeup is the same way they finished last season, although there has been plenty of talk around Lomax potentially playing at fullback.
Even if that does happen, Mat Feagai's brother Max is in the wings and pushing for further first-grade opportunities, while Sione Fainu who debuted against the Warriors late in 2023 will also push for a spot on the wing.
Savelio Tamale - a centre who can slot in on the wing - also progresses to the Top 30 this year, while Paul Turner is another backline player who has failed to break through since arriving at the club.
That makes it clear why the Dragons will put trust in their youngsters, with Nofoaluma's recent past also likely to ward off clubs making any sort of significant play for him.
That said, any club chasing a winger this late in the pre-season would bite for a player of Nofoaluma's stature.