IF 2017 was the craziest year of NRL player movements we’ve ever seen, 2018 is trying its best to take the gong.

Last off-season saw the likes of Ben Hunt, Jack Bird, James Graham, James Tedesco, Aaron Woods, Kieran Foran, Cooper Cronk, Kalyn Ponga, Jordan McLean, Mitchell Pearce, Matt Moylan, and James Maloney all switch clubs.

And that’s just the ones we could remember off the top of our head.

But the 2018 season is still going and already the transfer wheel is whizzing around faster than a Nathan Cleary torpedo.

The June 30 deadline is two days away and we’ve had Robbie Farah, Moses Mbye, Aaron Woods, JJ Felise, Trent Hodkinson, Darcy Lussick, and Oliver Clark all switch clubs.

The likes of Junior Paulo, Shannon Boyd, Tyrone Peachey, Tim Glasby, Angus Crichton, Jesse Ramien, Jack Cogger, and Nick Meaney have already signed with other clubs for 2019.

Jackson Hastings has been released by Manly but hasn’t been picked up elsewhere, while Young Tonumaipea has been released by Melbourne to complete a religious mission.

And these movements are just the tip of the iceberg.

While we may not see any more big moves before June 30, the next couple of months will be rife with rumours and speculation about a host of players in the competition.

Some of the biggest names include Blake Austin, Corey Norman, Brett Morris, Josh Morris, and Blake Ferguson.

While every club is monitoring the transfer landscape closely, it’s Newcastle, Parramatta, and Canterbury who are making the biggest moves at the moment.

The Bulldogs are desperately trying to clean up a salary cap mess and have already offloaded Woods and Mbye.

They’ve snapped up young bargain buys Jack Cogger and Nick Meaney from 2019.

Former representative forward Greg Eastwood will be cut adrift, freeing up $800,000 on the club’s cap, while the Morris twins are expected to find new homes after this current season. Kieran Foran may also be forced into retirement.

The Australian has reported Parramatta has entered the race for both Morris brothers as the Eels look to strengthen their backline depth for next season.

The same report revealed Eels coach Brad Arthur met with off-contract Roosters winger Blaker Ferguson recently to discuss the possibility of him moving west.

But Ferguson is also being pursued by the Knights, who would relish the added experience in their back five.

There’s scuttlebutt the Knights are also interested in luring Kiwis forward Marty Taupau north to the Hunter, although he’s still contracted to the Sea Eagles and would need to be released.

Manly is battling their own salary cap and roster problems and could yet look to offload more players before the year is out.

Then there’s the halves circus which could be triggered by the decision of Canberra five-eighth Blake Austin.

Austin is yet to commit beyond 2018 and now there’s talk of Parramatta trying to bring him back to Sydney and join the Eels.

If that happens, it’s likely Corey Norman will be let go by the club and he will be on the market.

Brisbane has denied their interest in Norman — a Queenslander — but he would surely have other offers on the table if he became available.

Gold Coast has salary cap space and could be keen to replace out-of-favour Kane Elgey with a player of Norman’s quality.

The Raiders, meanwhile, will no doubt be looking for another half if Austin does leave the nation’s capital.

We know, your head is spinning trying to join the dots on all these rumours and market mayhem.

But trust us, it’s about to get a whole lot more chaotic.