One by one, the cars roll into the St George Illawarra Dragons' Wollongong training base.
In comes Jack de Belin, followed by the Couchman twins and later Clint Gutherson. Then comes a ute packed with seemingly half the team.
Behind the wheel on this occasion is Corey Allan, with a rotating cast of teammates filling out the remaining seats.
Some days it's Damien Cook, Jaydn Su'A and Kyle Flanagan other days Lachlan Ilias, Valentine Holmes and Hame Sele join the carpool crew.
The popularity of the initiative has seen multiple cars required to ferry the players south but no matter the driver or vehicle, the atmosphere never changes.
Cook carpooled with former South Sydney teammate Tom Burgess prior to joining the Dragons and has been the driving force behind the initiative at his new team.
Not only is it an economical way to make the hour-long trip to Wollongong, it's also an opportunity for the players to form bonds off the field that will ultimately deliver results throughout next season.
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"The drive's longer but I'm really enjoying it at the moment," Cook said. "I used to do it with Tom Burgess every day and it's been nice to have a couple of new boys with me.
"We just have a chat, grab a coffee and cruise down every morning. You'll be surprised by how much those little connections work their way on to the field. All those off-field combinations and connections translate to the field."
St George Illawarra players have come up with a range of novel ways to overcome the challenge of a squad split between Sydney and Wollongong.
Jason Nightingale hired a minibus lovingly named Tonya to ferry the Sydney-based players south throughout the 2018 season.
The strategy worked a treat, with the Dragons spending much of the year at the top of the ladder and ultimately progressing to the second week of the finals.
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It's a result Cook is eager to emulate as the team looks to finish in the top eight for the first time since that 2018 campaign.
"Last year they just missed out on the eight but probably deserved to be there," Cook said. "Hopefully I can do my part along with the other boys who have come in [to get them there].
"The training standards are very high and the guys go hard. The young boys are really challenging us and keeping us on our toes.
"We need to work on our consistency, not just in the game but also week to week. It's about finding what we do well and doing it over and over again during the game and week to week. That's what you see the great sides, like Penrith, are doing really well.
"They know quite a simple game plan of what they do and they do it over and over again. As soon as they get their opportunity they take it and they make you pay for it. That's something we can take from the top teams, consistency and finding our style of play and doing that well."
Su'A played alongside Cook at the Rabbitohs from 2019-2021 prior to joining St George Illawarra in 2022 and he's been pleased to welcome a number of his former South Sydney teammates to the Dragons this summer.
The 27-year-old enjoyed one of his best seasons in the Red V last year, returning to the Queensland team for the opening two games of the State of Origin series.
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While it's early days, Su'A is thrilled by what he's seen throughout the opening weeks of pre-season and is confident the extended time spent together will help the Dragons defy expectations in 2025.
"We understand [people will write us off]," Su'A said. "It just comes with the territory. We don't have the biggest pack but we're working hard and I'm excited for what's to come.
"We've got a few recruits who have added to our side and I'm really looking forward to the challenge. It's the responsibility we have now [to defy expectations] and we accept it."
