The Wests Tigers will put their faith in Jacob Liddle and Queensland under-18s young gun Jake Simpkin instead of heading to the open market to replace retiring Robbie Farah.

Coach Michael Maguire described Simpkin as the one of the “up-and-coming great hookers” of the game as the joint venture turn to the future after Farah on Tuesday announced he would retire at the end of the year.

Considered one of the best young dummy-halves in the country, Simpkin will move to Sydney next year and is viewed as a long-term project by the Tigers.

He played No.9 in Queensland’s under-18 Origin win over NSW earlier in the year and has made a name for himself in the Mal Menigna Cup this year.

Liddle has been earmarked as the Tigers’ next No.9 for several years but has been restricted to 37 appearances since making his debut in 2016.

The 22-year-old underwent double shoulder surgery at the end of 2017 and returned midway through last year and Maguire said he was just now getting back to his best.

“At the moment we’ve got Jacob Liddle and I’m really impressed with how he’s developing,” Maguire said.

“Unfortunately he’s spent a couple of years on the sideline through injury.

“So this year is probably the first year he’s been able to sit in behind Rob.

“To Rob’s credit, he’s helped someone like Liddle, I saw him do that as his previous club with Damien Cook. Having Robbie around in some capacity will help us in that No.9.

“We’ve got a young up-and-comer from Queensland (Simpkin) who’s the up-and-coming great hooker from the under-18 level. We’ll develop from within.”