By his own admission, it was a slow start to the 2022 season for Moeaki Fotuaika; so, who would've thought a massive leap out of the 22-year-old's comfort zone would get him back firing to the ferocious front rower everyone knows and loves?
It even saw him recognised as a top four Titans contender for the RLPA's Players' Champion gong and now has him over in the United Kingdom as part of the Tongan Mate Ma'a squad.
His quick fix... calling the Gold Coast his home.
"I wasn't too happy with how I started the year and that first part of the season was a bit rocky for me," Fotuaika admitted.
"I felt like just moving down to the Gold Coast after staying up in Brisbane made a big difference, with the travelling and the extra sleep-ins and stuff like that.
"All that definitely made the back end of the season really helped with getting back into form.
"To finish off the season well was definitely a confidence booster for me going into next season and hopefully I can start well next year."
Gallery of Moe-ments: Fotuaika reflects on 100 NRL games
Flicking the switch in Magic Round with a whopping 78 minute performance that saw the barnstorming prop run for over 200 metres, the epic outing helped him bounce back to good form, which culminated in a big 100th NRL appearance in the final game of the season against the Warriors.
"It was definitely a game to remember, especially the way how we fought back with the Warriors putting on a couple points early in the game," Fotuaika said.
"For us to comeback, especially in front of their home crowd and then for Tanah (Boyd) to seal it with a field goal is definitely a win to remember with playing my 100th game in front of my family."
Showing the courage to keep digging in and not waive the white flag is what coach Justin Holbrook was most proud of in that performance and Fotuaika feels it has helped him and his team get set for 2023.
"We can definitely take a lot of confidence and a lot of things out of that game with how we fought back and the way we were resilient in some points of the game where they had us camped down our own end for a while," he said.
"For us to get out of there and keep defending our end and keep stopping tries definitely gives us that confidence that we are a resilient team and we can get out of those situations and games in the future."
#Moe100
The proud Tongan will now represent his heritage at the upcoming Rugby League World Cup and is excited to be part of the campaign after getting a taste of the International scene earlier this year.
"It means a lot. I've represented Tonga already once this year against the Kiwis and it's something that I've definitely wanted to do again," Fotuaika said.
"To get the opportunity to play in the World Cup really tops off my year.
"Our Tongan fans are pretty passionate as well as Tongan people, so to be able to represent myself and my family is something special to me."
Tonga's first game against Papua New Guinea kicks off at 4.30am (AEST) on Wednesday morning - watch live on Fox League and Kayo.
