Dual international Timana Tahu has dismissed claims the pace of the NRL has increased in his absence, insisting he felt right at home in his return match for Parramatta following a forgettable two seasons in rugby union.
Tahu, who had not played a competitive match in either code since he sensationally walked out on the Wallabies last July, was among the Eels' best in Friday's 18-12 loss to a clinical St George Illawarra.
It was as if he had never been away, as the former Kangaroos and NSW centre looked to make up for lost time with a solid display in both attack and defence that surely would have caught the attention of Blues selectors.
"Physically I feel good," the 29-year-old said after the clash.
"Talking about the speed of the game, I don't think it's changed. A lot of people have told me that it has gotten faster but it is a myth."
"It's just the same ... It's just a new generation of players that have come up."
"It's good to be back, good playing with my mates again, good to be back in the blue and gold. It's a great atmosphere for me, it was easy for me to slip into the culture when I decided to come back to rugby league."
"It's disappointing not to win our first game in front of a big crowd but that's football, you lose some you win some. Just hopefully we can improve in the next couple of weeks."
A clearly refreshed Tahu says 'it was good to let out a bit of steam' but admits he felt like a debutant before the match.
"During warm up I was sprinting around the field and after a while I started mucking up a little bit because I wanted to do everything at 100 mile an hour," he said.
"I loved every minute of it. I got those good nerves back, those butterflies in my guts which I thought I would never get back, but I did get them and for me that's a sign that I want to come back and play my best footy."
"Getting the first run out of the way was the plan to feel what the hits are like, and it felt good to get hit hard."
Asked if he was planning to settle in to watch a recording of the Waratahs' big win over the Lions who also played in Sydney on Friday night, an honest Tahu said: "No. I think rugby now is in the past for me. I enjoyed my time over in rugby but for me now is focusing on playing my best footy and learning from the mistakes we had tonight."
"This is my job, this is my passion ... I've just got to worry about my own backyard and try to play good for my team-mates."
Coach Daniel Anderson described Tahu's return as 'solid' but lamented his side's poor kicking game which he says was the difference between the two sides in a match played with finals intensity.