Michael Maguire wants to help take Luke Brooks into his prime at Wests Tigers as the new coach prepares his sell to re-sign the halfback.
Brooks will be one of the biggest-name halfbacks on the market for 2020, with Cooper Cronk expected to retire at the end of 2019.
Both Mitchell Moses and Shaun Johnson are also off contract, but reports have already surfaced linking Brooks to the Sydney Roosters as a potential replacement for Cronk.
The Tigers are confident of keeping their junior star, but saw Aaron Woods, James Tedesco and Mitchell Moses slip from their grasp under the same player manager of Isaac Moses in 2017.
Maguire has already been in dialogue with Brooks before his first official day at the Tigers on Monday, and will waste no time getting to know the 23-year-old.
"Of course you do (want to be keep him). He's a big part of the club," Maguire said.
"We've had some discussions now and I'm looking forward to sitting down and educating and building his game.
"I really enjoy working with halves. It's always something I've had a passion for - and the spine.
"The way he has developed his game he's right in the prime now of being able to take it forward in a big way."
After having the pressure of being compared to Andrew Johns heaped on him early in his career, Brooks had his best season in the NRL in 2018.
He claimed the Tigers' player-of-the-year award as well as being named Dally M halfback of the year as his running game prospered.
Most notably, he had more runs, linebreaks and tackle busts than any other year of his career as he got the Tigers to within one spot of the finals under Ivan coach Cleary.
Maguire has had the experience of taking Adam Reynolds from a rookie to a premiership-winning State of Origin halfback, as well as his dealings with Cooper Cronk as an assistant at Melbourne and Thomas Leuluai at Wigan.
And it's with that experience he wants to sell to Brooks.
"I want to build a relationship with him first and then talk to him about his game," Maguire said.
"I've been very fortunate that over a period of time I have been able to work with a few halves. And I want to impart as much knowledge as I can to make him a better player.
"I'm sure he wants to do that here at this club."
Australian Associated Press
