Kaufusi looked destined for the rugby league scrapheap after cutting short his three-year stint in the English Super League to return to Queensland for family reasons. But an out-of-the-blue phone call from former London Broncos teammate and ex-Manly winger Michael Robertson – who still shares a close relationship with Bulldogs coach Des Hasler – saw him sign on with the Bulldogs for at least two years.

"My wife had been in England for three years but she was missing home too much," Kaufusi said. "I was coming home to finish up and got a phone call from Michael Robertson who used to play under Des and that he might have something. He gave me a buzz and said Des was keen for me to have another run around. I got speaking to Des and that's how I ended up [at the Bulldogs].

"My wife and I want to start our own business in Queensland. She had been following me around. I was done and dusted."

It is easy to forget Kaufusi rose to representative honours during his six-season stint with Melbourne. His lone Test jersey is "in storage somewhere in Queensland", while Kaufusi also played for Queensland once in 2007.

He played for the Cowboys and Newcastle before stints with London, Huddersfield and Bradford in England. The 30-year-old made his NRL comeback for the Bulldogs in round four before playing in the club's last-start loss to St George Illawarra.

"I tell everyone I appreciate it more being back," Kaufusi said. "I enjoy being back in the environment and under the kind of pressures of the NRL."

With Canterbury's depleted pack, Kaufusi's experience has been called upon by Hasler to ease the pressure on some of the club's youngsters. Kaufusi said the confidence of the young squad members was a far cry from when he cracked first grade as an 18-year-old.

"I remember when I was coming through, guys ... used to torture all the young guys," Kaufusi said. "I'm not like that but when I see a couple of the guys now, if they were like that when I was coming through they would be put back in their place. But the boys are a good bunch of blokes. With my experience, at the end of the day I have to lead with my actions."

Canterbury's well-documented injury and suspension problems have seen their depth tested. They face a similarly depleted Manly side, with Bulldogs back-rower Tony Williams knowing he needs to lift his performance if Canterbury are to snap a two-game losing streak.

"When you've got possibly seven players of our top 17 not playing, you know within yourself that you have to give a bit more than you normally do," Williams said. "You've got to fill in those gaps that have been left and do more for the team than you have before. It's not two or three players, it's across [the whole squad]."

Canterbury beat Manly 16-12 on a dodgy Brookvale Oval surface just four rounds ago. Williams said he was pleased with his performances this season. "[I'm playing] better every year," Williams said.

• Follow LeagueHQ on Twitter
• Play Ultimate League
• NRL Team of the Week - Round 6
• NRL previews - Round 7