Marshall happy with halves

He's yet to decide what the combination will be but Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall is confident his mix of youth and experience will make for a competitive halves pairing in 2024.

With five-eighth Jarome Luai one of several off-contract halves set to attract interest from rival clubs, last year's wooden spooners have naturally been linked to conversations looking to lure the Panthers star.

But Marshall said he will prioritise the recruits who are already impressing in pre-season, including the likes of Super League signing Aidan Sezer, Dragons young gun Jayden Sullivan, U/19's Origin star Latu Fainu and top 30 graduate Lachlan Galvin.

"All players that come into the market, you've got to have a look at, especially if they're marquee players," Marshall told the media on Friday.

"But we've signed halves, we've got four halves going into the season and we'll prioritise them at the moment.

"Jayden Sullivan is a really good buy, Latu Fainu has been really good for us and we’ve got guys like Lachie Galvin coming through too.

"We've got a lot of up and comers who are looking to make a statement."

Four years after he led the Raiders all the way to a grand final in 2019, former Leeds Rhino, Seizer, is set to return to the NRL to fill the shoes of the departed Luke Brooks.

Despite having been out of the NRL for four seasons, Marshall is confident the 32-year-old brings an experience and professionalism capable of guiding the next generation of Wests Tigers halves.

"Aidan has been a really good buy for us. He obviously brings experience and has played a lot of footy," he said.

"Just seeing how he operates not only as a person off the field but the way he trains and goes about his business is going to be great for us to help these young guys learn."

Five-eighth Adam Doueihi is also in frame to return later in the season after suffering an ACL injury in Round 6 last year.

With a healthy halves race heating up in Concord, Marshall is clear the Wests Tigers No. 6 and No. 7 jersey is up for grabs and will be handed to whoever impresses most in the pre-season.        

"Everyone's got ideas about what I should do [halves[ but one thing I've made really clear with the players is no one's guaranteed a spot," he said.

"I don't care how old you are, how experienced you are, if you earn it through hard training in the pre-season, you're more than likely going to play."