It's not quite time for the 'Offseason Octopus' to emerge from it's hibernation deep in the Pacific ocean, but it is that time of year where the NRL player market gets pretty interesting. Expect these deals to be done pretty soon as players and clubs would want as much stability as possible heading in to their pre-season.

We already know the likes of James Gavet and Blake Austin have already made moves so who's next? It sounds like a move for Brett Morris has already been made by the Bulldogs which ignites the fire right off the bat. The Dragons, everything from the Dragons points to them reshuffling their squad and their salary cap. BMorris could be on his way out to join his brother Josh, while others like Jason Nightingale and Gerard Beale have also been rumoured to be shopped around. Nightingale, I reckon he could stay because he's Red V til' death (the Sharks are sniffing around) but Beale has been reported as being in talks with the Warriors by a few people. You've also got whispers that Trent Merrin isn't too happy, which makes the Dragons my low key team to watch this off season as they spice up their recruitment strategy.

Then we have the Manly Sea Eagles. Ooooweee. Anthony Watmough looks to be out the door, heading west to Parramatta and all signs point to Brett Stewart following him out the door. Where will Stewart go? The best bet is the Canberra Raiders, while the Dragons could also be in the mix. If both of those fail then the Cronulla Sharks also need some classy footballers so they could emerge.

This sends me down a bit of a different path than what you might been expecting. The Raiders, Sharks and Dragons are the names that you'll hear a lot. We know about the battle waged by Ricky Stuart and the Raiders in the past few months while the Sharks and Dragons have a definite need for a few decent players. I reckon the Raiders will head in to 2015 in a lot better position than they are now. They will target Stewart but could face some competition from the Doggies which is another interesting case - if they bag the other Morris, can they afford another top shelf player?

Ricky Stuart came out and said the the Raiders weren't interested in Josh Hoffman. First of all, I think they will be interested in Hoffman if they don't get Stewart because they're the best two fullbacks out there. But that statement pushes me in direction that the Raiders feel that they're well in the mix for Stewart and by going public saying that they don't want Hoffman could lead you to believe that they want Stewart to know that they're keen.

The elephant in the room is Darius Boyd. He looks odds on to join the Brisbane Broncos with Uncle Benny, but has apparently told his homies that he wants to stay at the Knights. Who knows. It's not unrealistic that he stays with the Knights - he could see it as a good opportunity to slide out from under Wayne Bennett's guidance and establish himself further in Newcastle. Imagine the good vibes in Newcastle in Boyd decided to stay? Hmmm.

Shit gets pretty confusing - if Boyd goes to Brisbane then it's hard to see where Ben Barba fits in. You'd have to imagine that the Bronco's spine would consist of Ben Hunt, Anthony Milford and Boyd. Not a whole lot of room for Barba who cost a fair amount of buckos add in to the mix that Barba hasn't really put his best foot forward this season. It's hard to see many NRL clubs hunting for Ben Barba, which will make him a tough sell for the Broncos ... an expensive tough sell.

I feel like I could go on and on, but I'll finish with two teams I'm keeping a close eye on. Firstly the Gold Coast Titans. They have some depth in the halves with Daniel Mortimer, Albert Kelly and Aidan Sezer as well as a decent forward pack but for anyone who thinks that David Mead and William Zillman will greatly help the Titans next season at fullback is kinda silly. Neither Mead nor Zillman are in the top 10 in their positions and are apparently competing for the fullback spot. Either the opt for a Mortimer and Sezer halves pairing with Kelly at fullback (me likey) or they get in the mix for Hoffman or someone else. The Titans aren't in that bad a position with a rugged group of forwards and young talented halves but suffered a whole lot of injuries last season and a rather uninspiring coaching performance. With Neil Henry at the helm, expect some sort of changes.

The Warriors. Lemme finish on them lads. Anyone with New Zealand links will be named as a target - Hoffman and Beale most notably, but I'll be keeping tabs on them for who they don't sign. For some reason, the Warriors and us (Warrior fans and NZ public) think we have to sign players. The worse thing we can do is sign players for the sake of signing players. I honestly believe they homegrown young talent is there, they just need some more time and bringing in more players will only confuse the situation.

If the Warriors are going to sign anyone I would head hunt Steve Matai and a prop. Matai is the sort of player who despite some centre depth at the club, won't confuse the situation. We know what we'll get from him in terms of ability but the attitude he will bring is much needed. A prop? Thanks to inconsistent form and injuries the prop rotation with the Warriors is never up to par, or not where it should be. They're all talented but they never monster other packs consistently. Gimme a Jacob Lillyman clone and I'll be happy.

Every team needs a rough, rugged type of forward which is why we have seen James Gavet head to the Broncos, Ben Hannant to the Cowboys and Siosaia Vave in the mix to join Manly. Besides the high profile fullback story line, watch out for sneaky forward buys as well.

Ok, Jarryd Hayne's gonna give the NFL a go so maybe the Snake could slither on over to the Eels with Watmough? Ooooolala.