Moses Suli regrets how his controversial stint ended at the Wests Tigers and holds no fears of facing his old team for the first time when Manly travel to Campbelltown Stadium on Thursday night.
He was a carefree 18-year-old when he made his NRL debut with the Tigers in round one of the 2017 Telstra Premiership season, barely two months after signing a lucrative three-year deal.
He played 16 games that year and then he was sacked. Suli was a reluctant trainer and often slept in a teammate's car when sessions were on.
Leading up to facing his old club for the first time – he was overlooked for the round-six match at Lottoland – Suli holds no grudge against the Tigers.
"Nah. They've done nothing wrong – it's all on me," Suli said. "I still speak to some of the boys here and there.
"I loved it there but there was a few stupid decisions that I made.
"When I think about it, yes, pretty much," he said on whether he regretted how things ended up at Concord Oval.
"I lost a big deal but I'm just into looking forward and keep working hard and hopefully get back up there.
"It is my first game against the Tigers – pretty pumped; I can't wait to face them. May the best team win."
Images of Round 23
Suli is still sleeping in cars. After a brief stay at the Bulldogs in the pre-season, where he was also sacked for non-compliance with training routines, the young centre now carpools to Manly from Fairfield 48km away with Sea Eagles teammates Jorge Taufua, Addin Fonua-Blake, and Manase Fainu.
Asked who chose the music to get them in the training mood, Suli said: "Whoever is in the front seat. I'm usually in the back sleeping. I catch up on my sleep as it's a long way here.
"I'm usually sleeping, depends on what time we start. We usually leave an hour and 45 minutes before training starts."
Turning 20 years two months ago, Suli agrees money and fame came too quickly and he found it hard to handle.
"A hundred per cent. When I think about it now I could have done things better, but I can't do much now. That's finished. I feel like I can handle it better now."
After 13 NRL games this year for the Sea Eagles, Suli has made 37 tackle-breaks, two line-breaks and scored a try.
But he has missed 14 tackles and nearly double that number by not being able to get anywhere near his opposition to put a hand on them.
"I'm willing to work on that. There's a lot of improvement for me [to make], especially in defence. I just keep coming to training and keep learning and hopefully improve," he said.
"Loving it here – every second of it. I'm just trying to improve my game every week. As I come here every day, I just want to get better.
"They [Manly] gave me this shot and I did not want to take it for granted because of what's happened in the past. I just love coming to training now with this great bunch of blokes and coaching staff."
GI; Benji and Taylor welcome All Stars revamp