Welcome! This is the weekly NRL Offseason Octopus and he/she (not quite sure yet) brings you the latest spice from the NRL during the offseason to keep ya'll up to date on who is doing what and what is doing who. This week's dosage includes a bunch of player movements as clubs look to suss out their rosters for 2016 so allow me with the help of my octopus homie to bring you up to speed.

Jamie Soward could possibly be on the move if a few media rumblings are true. Jamie Soward could also be staying put with Penrith if Phil Gould is true. The word was that Soward was being shopped around to other NRL clubs, but Panthers top dawg Gould disagreed and that is where we now sit with Soward expected to stay with the Panthers.

On the surface it makes sense for the Panthers to shop Soward around given the have both Junior Kiwis halves (Te Maire Martin and Zac Dockar-Clay) on their books next season. Matt Moylan is also shaping as a future half as he has all the skills needed and the Panthers have Dallin Watene-Zelezniak who is a fullback but is filling backline spots where ever the Panthers need him. I reckon Soward is highly valuable to the Panthers and both he and Peter Wallace will help provide leadership and a positive influence to these up and coming halves. 

Cheyse Blair has been snapped up by the Melbourne Storm as they look to replace Matt Duffie who will play rugby next season. The Storm have also re-signed Richie Kennar who got a few opportunities this season before Duffie came back from injury and they will maintain some good depth out wide in 2016. Blair is a big unit for a winger and with limited opportunities at Manly, Blair will be keen to try nail a starting spot in Melbourne.

Another winger who is chasing more game time is Kalifa Faifai Loa who got caught up in the CoCo saga with the Gold Coast Titans earlier this year. Faifai Loa started his career with the Dragons and he'll move back there next season which is a good signing as the Dragons need a powerful winger to fill the void left by Eto Nabuli's departure. Also heading to the Dragons is Raiders half Josh McCrone, which is interesting given that McCrone will probably be jumping from one reserve grade team to another. McCrone couldn't get a start ahead of Sam Williams and Blake Austin and in 2016 he will struggle to oust Gareth Widdop or Benji Marshall.

Faifai Loa and McCrone are both good signings for the Dragons who continue to build a stronger squad with more depth. I'm also keen to keep tabs on Russell Packer as he chase approval from the NRL to be able to play for the Dragons next season. Packer has done everything needed and is now a model citizen after his dramas ... and he was named in the NSW Cup team of the year.

Manly continue to clear their decks with Jesse Sene-Lefao on the move to Cronulla next season. I love Sene-Lefao as a player; he usually features through the middle of the field and is all energy with a nice balance of mobility and size. Who knows what the Sea Eagles are up to and if I were a Manly fan I would be a bit worried to see young forwards like Sene-Lefao and Ligi Sao leave the club but whatever.

For the Sharks, Sene-Lefao will lower the average age of their forward pack considerably and I can see Sene-Lefao fitting in nicely. The Sharks had a strong forward pack who were gritty and skillful and Sene-Lefao fits that bill.

Bryson Goodwin will stay with the Rabbitohs next season and the Bunnies also picked up Michael Oldfield. Goodwin has got better with age and he is a solid outside back who you would rather have at your club than allow him to leave as he can cover both wing and centre nicely. Oldfield is a fringe NRL player and I don't really care for this signing because it's hard to see him cracking into the starting team.

Both those signings will see the Rabbitohs absorb injuries and suspensions next season out wider and it's the same with them signing Bulldogs hooker Damien Cook. Cook was going to be snapped up by someone after impressing once Michael Lichaa was ruled out for the season with Cook's dynamic running game catching the eye. Cook will now compete with Cameron McInnes to start at hooker next season and I reckon the Cook/McInnes combination will help the Rabbitohs cope with the void left by Issac Luke's departure.

The Raiders have bolstered their hooking stocks in another funky signing. Adam Clydsdale enjoyed a good season with the Newcastle Knights and will head to Canberra next season - where the Raiders already have Josh Hodgson and Kurt Baptise. It was always a bit of a bummer when I saw Hodgson given a spell with Baptise coming off the bench as I love Hodgson's work and he can troop through 80 minutes so it will be interesting to see how this impacts the Raiders' rotation in 2016. 

How about we finish with a little Robbie Farah each week? Farah's situation is an ongoing affair and it will probably be the biggest story of the next six months. At the moment it looks like Farah is at his stubborn best, refusing to leave the Tigers and Farah's position has forced the Tigers to slightly adjust their own standing. Word is that the Tigers will keep a close eye on Farah's attitude and presence at the club this offseason and I see this as being a knee-jerk reaction from the Tigers who probably weren't expecting Farah to stand firm.

The Tigers would be foolish to allow Farah to kick rocks in reserve grade next season and if there is no NRL club in Sydney that wants Farah then the Tigers will need to sort something out. Hence they are bending slightly in Farah's favour, but this could also be viewed as the Tigers putting as many obstacles in Farah's way. 

It doesn't look like Farah is stressing too much though...