November 1 is just days away, and while all attention will turn towards those players who can officially sign with new clubs for the 2024 season, there are still a handful of players without a deal for 2023.
Among those players are a small list of players who the majority would view as something of a surprise to still not have a contract locked up for next season.
RELATED: Full list of off-contract players
Only the Canberra Raiders, Gold Coast Titans and St George Illawarra Dragons have zero players remaining off-contract, although some players - such as Cooper Johns at the Melbourne Storm and Albert Kelly at the Brisbane Broncos - have been informed their services won't be required from 2022.
One of those players also features on this list, while the remainder are still fighting for their NRL futures.
Here are the top five players still off-contract for 2023 noting that, with November almost upon us and clubs required to have filled most of their roster in just a few short days, most talent has now been snapped up.
Eisenhuth has recently spoken out about his future, and is one player who simply turns up and does his job every single week, no matter the circumstance.
The Penrith lock forward is the sort of player every premiership team needs, even if that role isn't being a star.
Eisenhuth played a mix of NRL and NSW Cup in 2022, but as a lower end roster player, that is the exact role Penrith needed him to play, and everytime he was called into the NRL, he ran hard, tackled hard and didn't let any of his teammates down.
That, in short, is why was so valuable to Penrith, would continue to be in 2023 or could be to a new club if the Panthers don't opt to extend his deal.
Doorey burst onto the scene during the 2021 season. An edge forward with plenty of potential, the local junior was one of the rare bright spots in a horridly disappointing season for the blue and white.
That stagnated in 2022 though thanks to an injury, with Doorey not able to crack the NRL side following his return, despite some solid showings at NSW Cup level.
While he eased his way back following the injury, he played four games in a row in the Mounties starting side at the back end of the regular season, reminding the NRL world of his talent with a couple of tries, an assist and strong defence.
The Bulldogs are going to have to shed players whichever way you look at it though, and Doorey's name could be on the chopping block. The club don't have many roster spots left, but do have five players still off-contract, with Doorey joined by Reece Hoffman, Tuipulotu Katoa, half Brandon Wakeham and another underrated second-rower in Jackson Topine.
There may be only room for one of Doorey or Topine, with all reports suggesting Topine will remain in the blue and white.
That could ultimately mean the Cabramatta junior is left to look for a new club, but the 22-year-old realistically should have no trouble finding a roster spot in the next few weeks.
The Cronulla Sharks are a club who could have had plenty of big decisions to make this off-season. Craig Fitzgibbon had two of them taken out of his hands by the twin retirements of Aiden Tolman and Andrew Fifita, who have both been immense for the club.
But the issue of Wade Graham, one of the most experienced Sharks of all-time, still stands.
On one foot, the Sharks would like the 32-year-old who has played 231 games for the club since switching from the Penrith Panthers in 2011 to go out on his own terms.
A captain of the club, Graham has struggled enormously with injury over the past couple of seasons and that will be weighing heavily on the mind of Fitzgibbon and his recruitment staff.
As will the fact that Teig Wilton and Briton Nikora continue to go from strength to strength in the black, white and blue.
It seems clear that Graham won't play for a different NRL club, so it's the Sharks or bust, but whether he gets a new deal or not is anyone's guess.
Reports in recent days suggest Lodge is open to the idea of taking a fairly substantial pay cut to stay at the Sydney Roosters, and who could possibly blame him?
The tri-colours might just provide it too given what he was able to provide to the side after his messy mid-season exit from the New Zealand Warriors and subsequential signing to the Roosters, although it took some weeks before his minimum signing value could fit into the tri-colours' cap.
Still, once he did join, he was phenomenal.
Bringing aggression, size and strength to the Roosters' forward pack, he joined a rotation with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Lindsay Collins and Siosiua Taukeiaho, although the quartet barely played together thanks to injury and suspension.
The loss of Taukeiaho hasn't been effectively replaced yet by Trent Robinson's side, and it would be hardly surprising to see a deal done to keep Lodge at Bondi, although chances are other clubs will have a look at the prop as pre-season kicks off in the coming weeks for all those players not involved in the Rugby League World Cup.
The end of Taupau's time on the Northern Beaches may not have come as a surprise, but it did come in slightly messy circumstances.
Reports at one point suggested he wanted an early release - something the Sea Eagles were unprepared to provide as they fought for the finals.
Taupau revealed mid-season that he hadn't even had a bite come his way in terms of a new contract, with the Dolphins bringing on a host of other experienced forwards instead of firing a contract his way.
The Parramatta Eels were at one point revealed to be a suitor, but nothing has materialised there, while it would be almost unarguable that a host of other clubs could use someone of Taupau's talents in their own charge for success.
Taupau certainly fell out of favour in Des Hasler's side towards the back end of the 2022 season, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have plenty still to provide as an NRL player.
