Logan Swann admits it felt a bit funny when he joined up with the New Zealand Warriors again after three years away from the National Rugby League club.
When he turned up for his first pre-season training session, there weren't many people he recognised from his first stint
with the club.
"That was a funny day," he said today.
"The boys were running at Glover Park in St Heliers and I rolled up and looked around the squad and I just didn't know anybody.
"Then I slowly worked out a couple of faces. There were probably three or four players I remember, so it was quite a change in personnel."
But the backrower said he had had no problems fitting back in at the club where he spent seven seasons and made 145 first-grade appearances until the end of 2003.
"It's good to be home and great to be involved with the Warriors again," he said.
"The professional attitude is second to none and it's a good family-oriented culture here."
Swann, 31, spent the past three years in the British Super League, where he played for Bradford and Warrington.
The 28-test former Kiwi has signed a one-year deal with the Warriors, now coached by former teammate Ivan Cleary.
His arrival adds experience among the forwards after the departures of Awen Guttenbeil and Sione Faumuina.
He was expecting a lift in intensity from the Super League, but nothing that a solid pre-season wouldn't prepare him for.
Before the option to return to the Warriors came up, Swann hadn't envisaged being back in the NRL.
"I always thought I would play in the NRL for most of my career and then head overseas to finish off," he said.
"I had no idea I was going to get the opportunity to come back and I'm excited about what the year holds for me."
The season that Swann left was the last time the Warriors made the NRL playoffs.
He said there was a belief in the present squad that the drought could be about to end after a solid first campaign with Cleary at the helm last year.
"There's definitely the belief in the players," he said.
"The culture that's coming through is having a big part in that belief, so everything is going well."
- NZPA
