Tom Trbojevic claims his stint in the US has the potential to make him an even better athlete, after battling through the most difficult time of his NRL career.
Trbojevic will make his long-awaited return for Manly in their season opener against Canterbury next Saturday, his first match since last May.
Initially sidelined through a dislocated shoulder, Trbojevic also spent part of his summer in Philadelphia training with reconditioning specialist Bill Knowles.
The injury was Trbojevic's fifth to his hamstring since 2019, prompting Knowles to tell the fullback change was required.
The majority of the work has centred around Trbojevic's running style and the position of his shin angle and glute movement, in a bid to limit the risk of injury recurrence.
But front and centre in analysts' minds is the impact Latrell Mitchell had on South Sydney after returning from a stint with Knowles last season.
Already one of the game's premier players before his trip to the US, Mitchell starred in the Rabbitohs' run to last year's finals with 18 try assists and 64 tackle busts in 13 games.
Asked if he could emulate that and become a better player than he had been in the past, the 2021 Dally M Medalist sounded hopeful.
"That's the plan," Trbojevic said.
"You always want to get better and I took a lot away from what I did overseas and will keep incorporating into the training program.
"I want to be the best athlete and teammate I can be."
Trbojevic admitted it would be difficult to implement changes on the run in matches, but was confident it would eventually become second nature.
"Initially it is very hard. And it probably still will be," Trbojevic said.
"But going to games you can't think about the little things. You have to look at the overall bigger picture.
"We haven't got to that part yet, but I am very lucky I get to practise it every day."
Nothing, though, will be as hard as accepting his fate last season.
In the hour after his shoulder subluxation, Trbojevic apologised to teammates and said he felt he had let them down.
The mood in the Sea Eagles' dressing room that night was particularly sombre, with players shattered for the out-of-luck fullback.
Almost 10 months on from the incident, Trbojevic admitted he had a greater mental struggle with the shoulder injury than others.
"It was quite hard," he said.
"With the other ones you know you're going to work yourself back to play footy.
"But footy is a long time away when it's round 11 and you find out you're not going to be able to play again for the rest of the year."
