Micheal Maguire is adamant the club won't attempt to secure Api Koroisau's services earlier than his arrival ahead of the 2023 season.
The Panthers and NSW Blues hooker will join the Tigers on a two-year deal after his time at Penrith winds up at the end of next season.
With their finals drought now stretching 10 years, the pressure on Maguire and the Tigers to produce results next year is monumental and it was suggested they could seek an early release for Koroisau to help them on their quest for a playoff berth in 2022, yet Maguire has shut that down.
“I don’t think (he will come early). I think he’ll be (at the Panthers) for the next season and we’ll get him in 2023,” Maguire told SEN.
Koroisau is expected to claim the No. 9 jersey off Jacob Liddle and Jake Simpkin, who both shared the hooking duties this season.
Simpkin, 25, has played 64 games since debuting in Tigers colours in 2016, while Simpkin, a 2019 U18s Queensland representative, made nine appearances for Maguire's side after moving to Concord from Brisbane at the start of last year.
Maguire insists both Liddle and Simpkin still have a future at the club and will be given every opportunity to continue their development this season.
“I’ll be very focused on the players we’ve got (already). We’ve got (hookers) Jacob Liddle and Jake Simpkin," the Tigers coach added.
“There have been some big developments there over the last 12 months with both of those boys.
“The organisation looks to the future, but we’re very much about what we can achieve now and what we want to be able to achieve this year."
The Tigers have been one of the most active clubs in the player market this year, welcoming Jackson Hastings (Wigan), Tyrone Peachey (Titans) and Oliver Gildart (Salford) this off-season, with Koroisau and breakout Eels backrower Isaiah Papali'i headlining their recruitment drive for season 2023.
Despite the clear intentions to add marquee talent to his roster, Maguire he's still heavily devoted to developing the strong core of junior talent that have emerged under his watch.
“The experience that a lot of our younger players we’ve debuted over the last sort of two years, I’m looking forward to seeing how they take a hold of this season, like Shawn Blore and Daine Laurie," he said.
“There’s many more there that have debuted over the last couple of years, and they now have the experience.
“In the organisation I’ve really wanted to build some depth with the junior group coming through, so then you can keep those players together for a period of time. The longer they play together the cohesion obviously comes into play.
“We’re now getting to that stage where a lot of these players have played between 30 and 50 games. That experience is vital now in the big games.”