Veteran prop Sam Kasiano is set to leave Melbourne - tossing up between Super League club Catalans and NRL side St George Illawarra - with the Storm desperate for a resolution before next Thursday's NRL season-opener.
Melbourne need to off-load the former New Zealand international to be salary cap compliant before their AAMI Park match against Brisbane or stand down the last player signed, which is skipper Cameron Smith.
The captain has been assured he's a certain starter, with the heat on the Storm to get a deal done.
Smith said Melbourne chief executive Dave Donaghy told him he would be playing against the Broncos.
"I've spoken to our CEO and he's very confident I'm going to be playing round one so that's all I need - his go-ahead that I'm going to be there," Smith said.
"As far as anything to do with the salary cap, that's not got anything to do with me in my role as a player.
"We're employed to play football and that's what we can control."
Kasiano's manager Mario Tartak confirmed his player was in talks with both clubs, but wouldn't be leaving Melbourne out of pocket.
"There's definitely pressure on Sam to move, no doubt," Tartak told AAP.
"There are clubs interested but we're still negotiating with the Storm."
St George Illawarra are looking at Kasiano as a replacement for suspended star Jack de Belin but there's some confusion about the status of Kasiano's contract should de Belin be cleared to return.
It's believed the clubs are also seeking the Storm to contribute a large portion of Kasiano's $600,000 annual salary.
Donaghy admitted there had been plenty of interest in the 28-year-old, who joined Melbourne last season and played 14 games
The Storm boss rubbished a rumour that the club could be stopped from fielding a team against Brisbane if they weren't compliant.
"Will we field a team - yes we will be playing the Broncos on Thursday night," Donaghy said.
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg also wasn't concerned about the Storm's plight.
"It's not uncommon in this point in time that clubs need to make decisions on roster management," Greenberg said.
"I assume Melbourne are in that space. They'd have some company though as clubs start to get towards the requirements and prescriptive measures about how the compliance of the cap works.
"I expect they're doing that work behind the scenes and I'm sure they'll come up with the right answer."
