The Wests Tigers are privately weighing up whether John Bateman should feature in Round 1, but the English forward has declared he will be up for it if his name is called.
Bateman finally made the trip to Australia this week after being forced to remain in the United Kingdom while he waited for a police check which would clear his visa into the country.
Once that cleared, he hastily made his way to Australia, and has been at Tigers' HQ for the first time late this week.
He won't have his first full day of training until Monday though - that is just 24 hours before team lists are due for the opening round of the season, and six days before the Tigers' first game, which will be a home encounter at Leichhardt Oval against the Gold Coast Titans.
Despite that, Bateman said he has been training on his own, watching clips, and will be up for it if selected.
"I have been training by myself, but you can't do the team stuff," he said.
"I'm up for it and looking forward to getting going.
"(Coach Tim Sheens) has been sending me over some clips, I have been looking through them and some of the plays.
"I've just been keeping my eye on that and trying to keep on top of it and what we do in training.
"The last couple of weeks we have had games, so I've been able to keep an eye on that."
Bateman's off-season has also been shorter than the regular one, given he played for England at the 2022 Rugby League World Cup on home soil - a tournament the Three Lions were disappointingly knocked out of during the semi-finals.
One of the best back-rowers in the competition during his first stint down under with the Canberra Raiders, he was a key part of the green machine's push for the 2019 grand final, and the Tigers will be hoping he can inspire similar at the joint-venture this year.
The Tigers haven't played finals football in more than a decade, but have been on a recruiting rampage to join returning head coach Tim Sheens this year, with Bateman joined by star hooker Apisai Koroisau, gun second-rower Isaiah Papali'i and prop David Klemmer, who moves to Concord after a player swap saw Jackson Hastings go back the other way to the Newcastle Knights.