David Fifita told Nick Politis he was coming to the Sydney Roosters. Now he’s playing for arch-rivals South Sydney

It will be the first time he has faced the club that thought it had him while playing for the old enemy.

Fifita, 26, who is off limits to the media, is one game into a two-year contract at South Sydney – the Titans granted him an early release – and looked the goods in his side’s 40-30 win over the Dolphins. He set up a try while making 20 runs for 171 metres and three tackle breaks in 71 minutes.

Fifita began pre-season training earlier than most of his teammates in November and did not miss a session. Conditioning has been a major focus, with the forward keen to strengthen his troublesome ankle after being limited to just eight games for the Titans last year.

During one beach wrestling session over the summer, Latrell Mitchell left his battle with Fifita sporting a scar on his head.

Once a destructive Origin forward, Fifita lost some of his shine at the Titans, but Bennett is adamant his best football is still to come.

“He didn’t look too bad,” said Bennett of Fifita’s performance last weekend. “It’s game one of a career [here] I hope.”

“He lost six to seven kilograms so that the process is already happening. It’s now just week after week, turning up and doing a good job playing his game and getting his confidence out of that.”

The lure of playing under Bennett remains strong across the competition. Fifita made his NRL debut under the master coach at Brisbane in 2018, and next year the Rabbitohs will add Broncos powerhouse Payne Haas to their roster.

The move to Sydney’s south-eastern suburbs – with Fifita now based in Maroubra – has also been a refreshing change of pace. It’s an area Bennett and teammate Jack Wighton have grown fond of.

Fifita drinks a caramel latte on the day of matches – caffeine, if we’re being honest, that is a bit more Rooster than Rabbitoh.

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Privately, the Roosters may take some solace from the fact the Fifita deal never materialised, given his patchy form. But if the back-rower has a major influence on Friday night – a match that could also become memorable if Alex Johnston breaks Ken Irvine’s all-time Australian top flight try-scoring record – it would only rub salt into the wound.

“He brings a big physical presence with the ball,” said Souths skipper Cam Murray of Fifita. “It takes a lot of energy and effort to get him down. He attracts a lot of defenders and is so dangerous in open space.

“It’s nice to have someone in your side like that who can bend the line as much as he does.

“He’s bought into what we’re doing, he’s happy here and wants to continue to the direction we’re going.”