Whilst halfbacks like Harry Smith at Wigan Warriors, George Williams at Warrington Wolves and Jonny Lomax at St Helens all have secure futures, there are big questions being asked of halfbacks at Leeds Rhinos, Hull FC and Leigh Leopards.
There are talks about North Queensland Cowboys making an offer for Hull star Jake Clifford with Wests Tigers interested in him and Salford Red Devils halfback Brodie Croft.
Meanwhile, there are also reports of interest in Leigh Leopards halfback Lachlan Lam.
There were even reports of talks between Lam and Canberra Raiders with the NRL club considering a move for the Papua New Guinea halfback and World Cup star as a way to replace Jack Wighton who will join South Sydney Rabbitohs.
However, one of the bigger stories has been that of Blake Austin.
The former NRL halfback came to Super League in 2019 signing for Warrington Wolves and turning down a move to Leeds however after three years with Warrington he would join Leeds in 2022 on a one year deal that was soon extended to 2023 as he helped Leeds to an unlikely Grand Final.
This means he is currently out of contact. He has had an up and down season. He has a huge number of assists and tore the house down against Catalans Dragons earlier this year but struggled against the likes of Wakefield Trinity.
However his last two showings against Huddersfield and Warrington have been near unstoppable and have made him look like the league’s best player but more noteworthy is the fact around this time reports came out that he was looking at options beyond Leeds in 2024 with a contract not signed with Austin wanting two years and Leeds offering one.
Austin said in an interview on Sky that he wanted to stay at Leeds calling for Gary Hetherington to start negotiations.
This came as Leeds were linked with former Warrington halfback Tyrone Roberts.
Interestingly, there have now been reports from Zerotackle that Austin has been a genuine target in the NRL due to a lack of halfback options.
In an interesting twist, Austin has now teased a contract update on his family YouTube channel on Instagram today.
This comes as he went to appear on the JBK Show.
He told fans to keep an eye on his YouTube channel for edits “with a contract update included.”
What this means exactly is unclear but the assumption is that he will resign with Leeds at present.
