Recruitment has been slow at Leeds Rhinos ahead of 2023. Though Justin Sangare is understood to have signed a deal with the club for next season, talk of further incomings has been slow.
There's still some doubt over certain outgoings, too. The likes of Tom Briscoe, Rhyse Martin, Brad Dwyer and Bodene Thompson are among the high-profile players whose futures have yet to be resolved ahead of 2023.
Clearly, some signings are needed but what will be interesting is how the Rhinos use a quota spot should one become available. They currently use all seven of their overseas spots but the departures of Martin, Thompson or both would allow Rohan Smith to go shopping in the southern hemisphere.
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But recruiting overseas is becoming harder for clubs. The seismic gulf between the competition's salary caps is making it difficult to attract the front-line players fans wish to see.
The Rhinos aren't flush with salary cap space, either. Though Alex Mellor and Jack Broadbent have already departed, that is thought to have only brought them back under the cap following the mid-season arrival of Zak Hardaker, another whose future remains undecided.
To make things more challenging, neither Martin nor Thompson are big earners as far as quota players go. Papua New Guinea international Martin is understood to have signed on reduced terms when he extended his deal by 12 months last year while Thompson is another who doesn't fall into the category of being among Leeds' top earners.
The reality is that, as it stands, the Rhinos don't have a huge amount of salary cap space to work with and therefore, signing big from overseas seems unlikely at this point unless there is a major shake-up down the line.
So if a quota spot does come up, the Rhinos may turn to the World Cup as a potential solution to land their next overseas recruit. The tournament at the end of the year will see hundreds of players head to the UK and allow clubs to try and identify potential new additions.
While the likes of Australia and New Zealand will be filled with some of the NRL's best players, second-tier nations, such as Fiji and Papua New Guinea, will feature players who aren't NRL regulars and perhaps feature in reserve grade.
Many of these players are unable to obtain visas due to not playing in enough NRL games, but international appearances are a different passage for players keen on a move to the UK to explore. The World Cup opens up opportunities for clubs but also many players.
The reality is that come October, most clubs will have already used their quota spots, which would leave any club with a spot to fill the opportunity to try and unearth a gem. That could well be an appealing proposition for the Rhinos and Rohan Smith, who is known to be keen on working with younger players.
Of course, there's an element of risk in recruiting so late. But there are also exciting opportunities. The World Cup means a number of players suddenly become available who would have otherwise been unable to come over. And that might allow Leeds to strike and pick up a key addition later in the recruitment cycle.
Given his time down under, Smith is likely to have extensive knowledge of most players that will feature in the competition. That also gives Leeds a head start on other clubs who may be considering the same thing.
Only time will tell if Leeds decided to go down that route, but it's certainly a consideration given their current salary cap predicament. You only have to look at Hull FC's capture of Joe Lovodua, who was able to come to Super League due to his involvement with the Fiji national team, to prove that lesser-known talent can come over here and flourish.
