EVEN for an administrator as capable and experienced as Newcastle Knights football director Peter Parr, David Armstrong presents something of a dilemma.
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Armstrong has been a revelation since he was called up, as replacement for injured Knights skipper Kalyn Ponga, to make his NRL debut against the Dolphins last month.
The 23-year-old marked the occasion with a try and a victory, and has subsequently helped Newcastle to win their next three games, scoring a scintillating hat-trick in Saturday's 28-24 cliff-hanger against Gold Coast.
With five tries in four games - the most by any Newcastle player this season - and a yardage average of 172 metres per game, Armstrong has not only been a feelgood story for Knights fans, he's put himself in the mix for the Dally M rookie-of-the-year award.
Week by week, the off-contract flyer would appear to be strengthening his bargaining position, and therein lies the conundrum Parr is facing.
Newcastle may well have already re-signed Armstrong, except for a recent change in his management that left negotiations temporarily on hold.
Since then his market value has almost certainly increased, and there could potentially be other clubs who are in a better position than Newcastle to accommodate the Mungindi Grasshoppers junior, both financially and in regards to long-term opportunity.
Realistically, as soon as Ponga is fit to return from a torn foot ligament that required surgery, it is hard to imagine Knights coach Adam O'Brien will not immediately reinstate the incumbent Dally M medallist.
That raises the question of whether a new position can be found for Armstrong, and a move to wing has been suggested.
But at 82 kilograms, is he built for the early-tackle hit-ups that are required of modern-day flankers? And how would he fare marking up against the likes of Xavier Coates, Dominic Young or Maika Sivo?
Moreover, without wanting to diminish what has been an outstanding start to Armstrong's NRL career, he was not necessarily Newcastle's preferred option to replace Ponga in the first place. My understanding is that if 20-year-old Cessnock product Fletcher Sharpe had been fit, he would have lined up against the Dolphins last month, not Armstrong.
All of which are factors that Parr will presumably already have considered.
Parr has been in discussions with Armstrong's agent, and the Knights are keen to retain him.
But by the same token, Parr has been around long enough to understand that every dollar counts in the salary cap.
The Knights are expected to table what they consider to be a fair offer for Armstrong to re-sign. Whether he can do better elsewhere will be the big question.
