Melbourne hooker Brandon Smith admits it's tempting to join Josh Addo-Carr at Canterbury next season, especially after watching his record-breaking NRL feats.
Addo-Carr's magnificent six tries in Melbourne's 50-0 flogging of South Sydney made him the first player to cross for that many in a single game since 1950.
The NSW State of Origin star is already locked in to the Bulldogs for next year, and the temptation is there for Smith to follow him.
"The thing that Josh offers is not just value on the field, because he can turn nothing into a try, it's his energy when you're going to training every day," Smith said.
"It's infectious and it makes everyone happy around the club and he's someone you want to be around all the time."
Smith, 24, has been given permission by the Storm to find a starting No.9 job at a rival club next year provided they get a player of equal calibre in return.
While he's happy to bide his time alongside Harry Grant for the right deal, he's one of the NRL's most in-demand players..
His comments come after what he described as an "innocent meeting" this week with Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett, who was in Melbourne to see Addo-Carr.
"He offered me four million dollars for three months, so I said I'd take it," Smith joked, going on to say he'd never met Barrett before.
"I've spoken to him before, he gave me call a while ago during the off-season when the Storm allowed me to go talk to other clubs.
"It was an innocent meeting, though, we didn't talk about details or the future, but he seemed like a really good guy."
Understandably, the Storm don't want to let him go, and Smith says any decision on his future is not his immediate priority with the season in full swing.
Meanwhile, speculation has swirled that Addo-Carr is having doubts about his move to bottom-placed Canterbury next season.
But the winger insists that's not the case.
"Not at all, I'm excited by the challenge," he said.
"That's one of the reasons why I wanted to go to Canterbury, the biggest reason was to be in Sydney with my family.
"I know how to win premierships, I know what it takes to be a consistent footballer and if I can help my teammates be successful, then happy days."
Leaving Melbourne will be tough for the 25-year-old who admits he thinks about how hard it will be to walk away from the premiers.
However, with the club set to land Brisbane star Xavier Coates, Addo-Carr says he encourages any player who gets a chance to go to Melbourne to take it.
"They'll turn you into the footy player that you always dreamt of being," he said.
"You learn how to play rugby league when you come to Melbourne Storm."
Australian Associated Press
