Western Force coach Richard Graham sees the ACT Brumbies as the most likely destination for in-demand Wallabies star James O'Connor.
O'Connor is widely speculated to be close to signing with the Melbourne Rebels after the Force ended over four months of negotiations when they withdrew their final offer and parted ways with the playmaker on Wednesday.
But Graham said he saw the Brumbies as favourites to end the ongoing saga and finish the deal.
"I would think Jake (incoming Brumbies coach Jake White) and Eddie (former coach Eddie Jones) coming in there would possibly influence him to go to Canberra," Graham said.
"The Waratahs clearly didn't have any interest from the start, the Reds, given the way they've recruited over the last period of time clearly won't have a place for him, so clearly it's going to be Melbourne or the Brumbies. I would think possibly the Brumbies."
The Force were desperate to keep O'Connor and made him an offer which would have made him the highest-paid player at the club, but Graham said he was confident they could overcome his departure.
"We as a team have displayed over the last three or four weeks, with or without James, that we are moving forward as an organisation," he said.
"James has been part of the organisation for the last four years. And has become a Wallaby from the Force. So no doubt there will be some disappointment. But now it's an opportunity for us to move forward."
"I have been active in the market for the past four or five months during this negotiation and will continue to do so."
Despite the drawn out negotiations, which saw O'Connor strongly linked to the Reds, Rebels, Brumbies and Force at different times, Graham insisted there was no animosity towards the 21-year-old.
"James has conducted himself well throughout a long period of four and a half months," he said.
"The one thing I'll say in our discussions, he chose to continue negotiations with the Force because he saw us as the best rugby program. His decision now to leave is, in my view, obviously for other reasons."
Meanwhile, Graham said the Force were exploring all options to ensure they can play their final match of the season against the Rebels in Melbourne after volcanic ash forced airlines to cancel flights in and out of Perth from Wednesday afternoon.
"If we have to get the train overnight and fly from Adelaide, we're exploring everything, because we're very keen to get there and play on Friday night," he said.
"We want to finish the season well and sitting here in Perth isn't going to give us the opportunity to do that."