The text messages have already started flying - as if Martin Taupau needed any reminding. Any planned honeymoon period in his new colours at Manly - a club he described as a "privilege" to play for - will have to wait with the prospect of facing his two former clubs providing a brutal initiation to life on the peninsula.
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The prospect of facing the Bulldogs in his NRL debut for Trent Barrett's remodelled Sea Eagles might have been daunting enough - a club where Taupau's opportunities dried up under Des Hasler three years ago - but he won't have to wait long to see how he will be received by the Tigers faithful after being granted a release from the final year of his contract.
The Tigers will host Manly in round two at Leichhardt Oval.
"It's no drama ... I've just got to do what I've got to do and that's play football," said Taupau, who helped launch the Australia-New Zealand end-of-season Test in Perth on Wednesday. "It's my job.
"A few of my mates have texted me saying, 'have you seen round two? You've got the Tigers after the Bulldogs first round'. But I'm really excited to put on the jersey and get right back into it."
The Kiwi international, whose Manly contract was leaked by a Canadian theatre critic after an embarrassing email gaffe, was just one pawn in Jason Taylor's major reshuffling of the decks at Concord despite being arguably the side's best in 2015.
Taupau maintains there are no hard feelings after heading to the northern beaches in the off-season and will skip the Auckland Nines in preparation for the NRL All Stars match having returned to training just this month following New Zealand's Test series loss to Great Britain.
"I've kept in contact with the [Tigers] players and despite everything that's been put into the media ... everyone that gets involved with rugby league has great mateship," Taupau said.
"That's what I've got at my previous club at the Bulldogs and with the Tigers the bond is even stronger in sticking together and going through what's happened. I do keep in contact with a few of those Tigers players.
"It's been four weeks now [at training] and I'm finding my bearings at Manly. There's no words to describe how privileged I am to play in a side that's won a premiership every decade from the 80s.
"It's a really exciting bunch at the moment. We all really believe that anything could happen - our opportunities are limitless - and we want to stick together and create them together. There's a great buzz and it's exciting for everyone."
Former Gold Coast skipper Nate Myles has joined Penrith recruits Lewis Brown and Api Koroisau, both of whom followed former Penrith assistant Barrett from the Panthers, as the Sea Eagles' new blood.
Finding his feet with Manly may take a little time, but the 25-year-old wrecking ball is more than comfortable in the New Zealand set-up heading into a crucial year for the international game.
Taupau will make two scheduled visits to the west as Manly host the Warriors at Perth's nib Stadium in round 19 before Mal Meninga puts his final touches on the Australian side before the Four Nations tour with an end-of-season Test against New Zealand on October 15.
"We went over there to England to win and prove the point we are the world No.1 so I guess we have to reassess our performances and re-establish our dominance at the international level," Taupau said of New Zealand's 2-1 series loss to Great Britain.
"There's a lot of players that are in contention and with international rugby league building with the Four Nations at the end of the year and then the World Cup [in 2017] it will be exciting. For us as a nation it's all about building the foundation and getting strength from that.
"Landing in Perth you just get this vibe there's a love of rugby league. I've spoken to a few locals and they love their rugby league and there's a huge Kiwi fan base."
