Cronulla veterans Paul Gallen, Chris Heighington and Luke Lewis are facing a mid-season crunch over their NRL futures.
The premiers are facing some tough decisions as they weigh up their salary cap for 2018 and whether the hard-headed trio go around again.
Complicating their salary cap jigsaw is that they must find the money for big upgrades for Jack Bird and Wade Graham, who are seen as the future of the side along with the recently re-signed Valentine Holmes.
Gallen said his future was so precariously placed he had already gone back and forth during the opening two weeks of the season.
He said after the side's opening-round loss to Brisbane he was resigned this year would be his swansong but a big win over Canberra had convinced him he wanted to play on.
"Last week I was retiring, this week I'm playing on for another couple of years - scoring 40 points and getting a try and a win down in Canberra makes you feel pretty good," Gallen said.
"Last Friday I woke up and I was done.
"The main thing is going to be the club - if Flanno (coach Shane Flanagan) thinks there's still a role for me to play here.
"My job now is to pass on that knowledge to guys like Wade (Graham) and if he feels I've done that good enough, it'll probably be time to call it quits."
Gallen, 35, this year stepped down from representative football but will make a decision "between round 12 and 16" whether to play on into an 18th season next year.
The club is expected to wait until the later rounds to make a decision on the future of Heighington, 35, and Clive Churchill medallist Luke Lewis, 33.
When asked if he'll go around again, Heighington said: "I'm really not sure to be honest.
"It's probably mid-year I'll sit around with some people and work out what I want to do but at the moment the body is feeling good."
