Mitch Kenny sees it as being in the final seven months of a three-year hooking apprenticeship at Penrith and says this time next year he will be ready as ever to become a starting No.9 in the NRL.
The long-term heir to Penrith's dummy-half role, Kenny is by no means rushing Api Koroisau out the door with his two-year Wests Tigers deal starting in 2023.
He, in fact, credits the departing hooker as the man who has made him ready for first grade in what looms as his final season coming off the bench.
"I look at it a bit like an apprenticeship," Kenny told AAP.
"When I came into grade I didn't really know what I was doing. I was like a lock-turned-hooker.
"In the two years I have under Api I have learnt so much about footy and myself and developed and see the game a different way.
"I won't lie. It definitely feel like a focus for myself is just that I have one year left to sharpen the tools as much as I can, sponge off Api as much as I can."
Penrith's faith in Kenny is clear.
The club is meticulous in their roster management and made the call not to try and match the big money Koroisau was certain to command elsewhere.
Instead, they backed 24-year-old Kenny as the long-term replacement after he himself put off interest from other clubs last year.
"It would have taken a lot for me to leave," Kenny said.
"I always thought I could have a future here and I am just thankful it turned out.
"The club always have a plan and some times you just have to put a bit of trust in them, and they have always been really transparent in me.
"I am thankful for where I am at but I am hopeful I am a much better player in 12 months than I am now."
Koroisau, for his part, admits he will be "shattered" when it finally dawns on him his time is up at Penrith.
The 29-year-old understands why Penrith could not match the Tigers offer, after becoming one of the NRL's best dummy-halves in his second stint at Penrith after time at Manly and South Sydney.
"I honestly have not thought about leaving yet ... so it will hit me hard when it does," Koroisau said.
"I will be shattered when the time comes."
