Tim Sheens says Benji Marshall had his blessing to reach out to Mitchell Pearce and gauge his interest in an NRL swansong with the Wests Tigers, even if the approach was likely to meet a dead end.
It emerged on Wednesday that Pearce, who turns 34 next week, had been sounded out by Marshall over a return to the NRL.
Pearce is signed with Super League club Catalans Dragons until the end of this season.
The current Tigers No.2, Marshall is set to become head coach in 2025 when Sheens steps down.
Some interpreted Marshall's contact with Pearce as an attempt to undermine Sheens, who has continually insisted maligned playmaker Luke Brooks is the answer to the Tigers' woes.
But the veteran coach said it was no secret the Tigers were on the hunt for a half, and Marshall had spoken to Pearce with Sheens' blessing.
"We've been chasing a senior half for a while," Sheens said on Thursday.
"The conversation was had, he (Pearce) wasn't interested and he's on contract - Benji knows him.
"We've been dealing with Mitchell Moses and Cameron Munster ... It's not to replace him (Brooks).
"We don't stop recruiting in the middle of the year, it's an ongoing thing."
The Tigers haven't won a game with Brooks in the side since April last year and travel to Brisbane on Saturday to face a red-hot Broncos outfit.
Sheens also hosed down speculation linking the club with Canberra five-eighth Jack Wighton.
"We were getting calls saying, 'You've got to be interested'," he said.
"It's automatically linked to us because we've been looking for a ball player."
Sheens said he would persevere with pairing Brooks with Brandon Wakeham and deploying Adam Doueihi at fullback.
"They are our best two options, and Adam at the back; he's a smart player and it's our logical option," Sheens said.
