Morgan Smithies jokes he doesn't play golf or fish, so he might need to get better at both to fit in at the Canberra Raiders.
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But then he goes on to say the Raiders' family of players, coaches and partners have been "pure class" in welcoming both him and his partner to the capital.
Now the hard work will begin when Smithies starts his first NRL pre-season on Monday.
His goal's a clear one - be part of the Green Machine team for their round one trip to Newcastle to face the Knights.
Whether that's at lock or in the second row, or even at prop or off the bench, the England international doesn't care.
He's come Down Under to become a better player and he'll spend the next four months doing exactly that.
Of his 114 games for Wigan, Smithies has played most of them at lock, with 13 in the second row and the rest off the bench or at prop.
There's plenty of competition for spots in the forward pack, but the 23-year-old was up for it.
Corey Horsburgh made the Raiders' No.13 jersey his own last season, but he's suspended for the opening two rounds.
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Ata Mariota, Emre Guler, Hohepa Puru, Pasami Saulo, Peter Hola, Simi Sasagi and Trey Mooney will all be staking their claims for spots in the middle or on the bench.
Canberra captain Elliott Whitehead, Hudson Young and Sasagi were options in the second row.
"One hundred per cent that's my goal [to play round one]," Smithies told The Canberra Times.
"I know it's going to be tough and pretty challenging.
"The boys have been training hard so I feel like I've got a little bit of catching up to do, but I think I'll be there or there abouts in a few weeks to come so I'm looking forward to the challenge.
"I played loose forward at Wigan last year and just working on my ball-handling skills.
"I feel like they progressed, but I'm not too bothered where I play.
"I'll play wherever for [Canberra coach Ricky Stuart]. As long as I'm playing I'm not too bothered where I play.
"I've played a little bit of second row for Wigan when there's been injuries or stuff like that.
"Whether it's 13 or second row I'm not too bothered. I'll just be happy to play for Canberra."
Smithies wanted to be more than just the tackling machine he's made a name for himself as.
When he was 18 he made a then Super League record 72 tackles in a game, but he's been adding ball-playing to compliment his rock-solid defence.
Coming to Canberra was part of that evolution as he looked to take his game to another level, having made his England debut this year.
He met Whitehead in England camp, with the Raiders captain taking him under his wing to help his fellow countryman settle into life in the ACT.
"I'm definitely a player who plays with a lot of pride and passion," Smithies said.
"I'm a hard worker, but over the past few years I've tried to add a bit more on to my game - a bit of skill in the attack - but defensively I'll be pretty sweet."
Smithies changed manager to Liam Ayoub earlier this year, which the Yorkshireman felt put his name on the NRL radar.
He certainly caught the attention of the Raiders, who were the only team he personally spoke to.
Stuart who sold him on joining the Green Machine as he comes to the capital fresh off the back of winning the Super League title.
"I don't know if there were any other talks, I'm not too sure, but once I spoke to Ricky I felt like he was a coach I wanted to work with and I was doing whatever I could to come over really," Smithies said.
"He's very straight to the point. You can tell he doesn't take any nonsense and I like the fact he appreciates hard workers and I like to think I'm a hard-working player.
"So I'm looking forward to creating a relationship with him and hopefully play some good games under him."