The Canberra Raiders have put up the full-house sign, dispelling rumours of a move for Wigan forward John Bateman and "100 per cent" ruling out a player swap for prop Frank-Paul Nuuausala.
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And it's believed the Raiders are close to re-signing back-up hooker Kurt Baptiste on a one-year extension.
Baptiste helped spark Canberra's fightback against the Brisbane Broncos that fell short 26-18, with two second-half tries last Thursday.
Raiders recruitment boss Peter Mulholland said the early arrival of former Parramatta Eels prop Junior Paulo meant they were "set as it is", which meant they weren't in the market for Bateman.
An England international forward, Bateman has missed Wigan's previous two Super League games as the club investigates claims of a fight between two of its players.
He has been linked with a move to the Raiders, although Mulholland poured ice on the rumour.
Mulholland caught up with the versatile second-rower while he was on a recent scouting trip to England, after he initially tried to lure the forward to Australia last year.
But he said they wouldn't be adding Bateman to the two Englishmen they already have in their squad, Elliott Whitehead and Josh Hodgson.
"I met with John Bateman last year for St George Illawarra and I spoke to him about the possibilities but he's still on a long-term contract," Mulholland said.
"I did catch up with John again ... when I was over there for the Magic Weekend. We're always open to top-quality players and he's one of the best ones in England at the moment, but certainly there's no movement from us on that one.
"We're set as it is [for 2016], Junior Paulo would have stretched us right to the end of the day."
While Nuuasaula's future at the Raiders remains up in the air, Mulholland quashed any chance of a player swap for Bateman.
Nuuausala is contracted to Canberra until the end of 2017, but the door has been opened for an early move to the Super League – potentially before the June 30 transfer deadline – if that best suits the 29-year-old.
The former New Zealand international has been linked to St Helens, Hull KR and Wigan, but Mulholland said nothing had been finalised.
He has dropped down the front-row pecking order in Canberra with the arrival of Paulo and the emergence of Clay Priest, but he's still seen as a valuable member of the squad.
"It's not an urgent thing from our point of view, he still offers us a lot of squad depth," Mulholland said of Nuuausala.
"Someone was intimating that we would do a swap for Frank-Paul [with Bateman], but that won't happen, 100 per cent."
The Raiders return to training on Wednesday after a five-day break and will begin to get ready for the next clash, away to the Gold Coast Titans on Sunday week.
