Dolphins prop Tevita Pangai Junior hopes to be a fluent French speaker in 12 months but first up he will face old club Canterbury with gratitude in his heart.
The 28-year-old, who will join Catalans next year, plays the Bulldogs on Saturday in Bundaberg.
It is the club where he played 36 matches in two seasons before a stint as a boxer.
Pangai Jnr was superb in the 34-32 win over the Warriors on Sunday where he ran for 161m in a 39-minute stint of power and discipline.
The Dolphins are in eighth spot on the ladder and the high-flying Bulldogs are fifth after making great strides under Pangai Jnr's former coach.
"Cameron Ciraldo always backed me and I am happy to see the Bulldogs going well," Pangai Jnr told AAP.
"When I was at the Bulldogs I bought into team-based actions. They pride themselves on that stuff. It is all the little things you don’t see, but you can see it in their results now.
"Cameron stayed strong on his beliefs. They got rid of a lot of people that weren’t buying in and brought in people that do buy in.
"We all knew how good Cameron was on defence because he is the one who created those systems at Penrith and brought them to the Bulldogs."
Pangai Jnr has been superb under coach and former Brisbane Broncos mentor Wayne Bennett. The Dolphins have been error-prone in second halves but he has been immaculate in six games.
"I’ve had zero errors and that is something Wayne always harps on about. I know how big he is about ball control," Pangai Jnr said.
"That’s why being back under him is so good for me. I just want to finish the season here at the Dolphins well."
Pangai Jnr won't be joining Bennett at South Sydney next year, although he did not discount that happening in future.
"It is just a year I have in France at Catalans and I will come back to Australia after that and see what happens. The kids are still young but if I don’t do it now I will never do it," he said.
"I just wanted to try something different and I am really grateful to move to the south of France and play rugby league. Catalans are a great club and I have a few mates going there. I am looking forward to learning French and getting a full pre-season in and working on my body."
First on Pangai Jnr's agenda is a raid on Canterbury and a favourite lolly jar.
"I still have good friends there at the Bulldogs," Pangai Jnr grinned.
"The coach and I talk and I talk to Viliame Kikau every week, but I might leave big ‘Kiks’ alone this week.
"I am in touch with the (team) manager Fred Ciraldo. I used to go and find him and eat all his lollies so I might have to do that on Saturday."
