Kiwi International Sam Kasiano's time at Dapto has proven fleeting, with the Canaries marquee recruit departing the Showground before lacing up a boot for the club.
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The 153-game NRL veteran inked a deal to don the Canary yellow at the end of February to link with former Samoan Test teammates Joey Leilua and Pita Godinet.
However, a change of heart saw the 33-year-old seek a release from the club to return to Brisbane to be closer to family.
Having also lost key prop Josh Vaartjes over the off-season, it's a blow for coach Blake Wallace heading into his third season in charge, but he says there's no bad blood over the move.
"He's moving back to Brisbane so unfortunately we won't have him lining up for us," Wallace confirmed.
"It's obviously disappointing but I get it at the same time. That's where his family is from and unfortunately we couldn't get him [to stay]. It is what it is.
"It would have been great to have him for the year but, at the end of the day, you've got to do what's best for you and the family.
"For him that's moving back to Brissy, so I wished him all the best. I hope it all goes well for him with what he does next and that transition's a smooth one.
"It's obviously a big loss in one sense, but it's not like he was playing with us and we've lost him.
"We haven't been relying on him because he hasn't been here, so it's just next man up now."
Kasiano's departure late in the piece will give the Canaries some recruitment capacity, but Wallace has faith in largely the same group that came on late last season.
"I've got [roster] points to play with, which is a bonus," Wallace said.
"The hard thing is, at this time of the year it's hard to get guys that aren't already locked into places.
"I do have a couple of options, I'm just waiting to see how they pan out in regards to their current situation. If it happens, great, but I'm not losing sleep over it.
"It'll just be next to man and up from within, I'll give one of these boys that have earned it through preseason a crack.
"I've got a lot of Dapto juniors in the mix and that's what I want to be doing at the end of the day, producing those boys.
"For me as a coach, it's just about sprinkling in the right [marquee] players amongst what we have there."
The club's other marquee recruit Joey Leilua has reported for duty after being absent for much of the preseason training for three pro boxing bouts.
With former NRL players Godinet and Aaron Gray returning from last season, Wallace is confident has a finals roster at his disposal.
"I've retained Aaron Gray, I've retained Pita Godinet, I've added Joey Leilua, which is all exciting," Wallace said.
"Now we've got Joey back, he's committed, he's ready to rip in and I'm excited by what we can do and how we can get the best out of him.
"You get him in there, plus the guys that we've still got there from last season, I think we're trending in the right direction.
"There's a couple of other boys that have come out of the woodwork this preseason so I'm pretty excited in that regard.
"It all comes down to making sure we hit the ground running on the back of a good preseason and don't let too many games slip at the start of the year like we did last year."
Kasiano isn't the only ex-NRL star to have come and gone before the start of the the llawarra League season, with James Segeyaro also departing before taking the field for Wests.
Segeyaro signed with the Devils in November before also seeking a release on compassionate grounds to return home to North Queensland.
The Devils have since added former NRL stars Tautau Moga and George Jennings ahead of the looming season that kicks off with round one on April 20.
Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
