They say change is as good as a holiday... but new recruit Harley Smith-Shields has vowed his Gold Coast move is no vacation.
Relishing the opportunity to shift to the Titans on a two-year deal after having previously called Canberra home his entire life, the 23-year-old has his eyes set on using his relocation to get his fledgling career back on track after a devastating ACL injury sidelined the strike centre straight after being crowned the Raiders' Rookie of the Year in 2021.
"I think the change is going to be good," Smith-Shields told titans.com.au after inking his new deal.
"It was always going to be tough having to leave home, especially with my family and things like that, but when I got the call from here and I knew Des (Hasler) was here and the amount of talent that's here... it was a pretty good decision from me.
"I've also got a little bit of family up here as well and my brother that I can stay with, so I think it's going to be good."
'The change is going to be good': Smith-Shields' first interview as a Titan
Admitting he'll likely crash on his older sibling's couch for the first few weeks as a Gold Coast newcomer, it's a timely move for the 15-game NRL young gun who gets to reunite with the very person who he shares a special bond with... and the same piece of muscle.
Needing to find someone with a healthy hamstring for his knee graft - Jese answered the calling.
"My brother really helped me out in 2022 when I hurt my knee, donating a bit of his hamstring to help fix my ACL, so having him here for me is a big support," Smith-Shields said.
"It's always a funny story to tell. No one really understands it until you dive down into it. He didn't even really understand it until I started asking him for his hamstring... but he just said yes straight away.
"I think I owe him one now, so I've got a point to prove."
Adding to the familiarity of Smith-Shields' move is Titans assistant Brett White, who coached the Raiders junior at Under 20s level during his previous tenure as a Canberra assistant.
"Whitey has been huge for my development," he said.
"He pulled me out of SG Ball when I was fairly young to join his 20s team. He coached our Raiders 20s team back then and started learning from him right away.
"Obviously he stepped into first grade at a similar time that I did. He has great defensive principles and and I'm keen to start learning off him again.
"It's funny how the world works... he called me the other day before I came up here to give me the rundown on things and where they're at.
"I think he's excited and so am I."
