SAM McIntyre impressed a lot of people when he was at the Wests Tigers last season.
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None more so than those at the Gold Coast Titans who wasted little time securing his services for 2021 with the opportunity to head north one proving too good to pass up.
After securing the services of forwards David Fifita (Broncos), Tino Fa'asuamaleaui (Storm) and Herman Ese'ese (Knights), the club moved on McIntyre.
"I saw the opportunity to come to the club up here because there are some pretty exciting things happening," McIntyre said.
"We all saw the way they finished last year along with some of the boys they signed, so they're moving in a good direction and I wanted to be a part of it."
McIntyre has only been on the glitter strip for six months, but already he is part of the furniture.
"I feel like I'm part of the family already; I just like hanging around with the boys and building those connections," he said.
"I saw the opportunity to come to the club up here because there are some pretty exciting things happening."
- Sam McIntyre
It hasn't been all smooth sailing at his new club, with the Port Macquarie product suffering an injury setback through the form of stress fractures in his foot just before Christmas.
It put him in a race against the clock to be fit for the Titans season opener against the Warriors on March 13.
And while plenty of rugby league experts expect him to be a prominent figure in coach Justin Holbrook's top 17 throughout the season, McIntyre wasn't looking too far ahead.
"It's really nice to have people that have a high opinion of me and means I'm doing a few good things, but there's only one person who picks the team so we'll see when round one comes around," he said.
"I've been injured too, so we'll see what happens because nothing is guaranteed in rugby league."
With Fifita, Fa'asuamaleaui and Kevin Proctor likely to receive all the accolades, McIntyre felt the rest of the team could benefit.
"When everyone's looking at them they're not looking at us as much so there will be a few more spaces around for us hopefully," he said.
"It's really nice to have people that have a high opinion of me and means I'm doing a few good things, but there's only one person who picks the team."
- Sam McIntyre
The Titans improved at the back end of the 2020 season with many now expecting them to make the top eight this year.
But the players themselves aren't buying into the expectations.
"We don't listen to that outside noise too much," McIntyre said.
"We concentrate on what we have to do; I personally don't listen to it because it can go both ways and be good and bad.
"We keep what we want to do inside our own little circle so everyone can have their expectations, but we have our own we want to live up to."
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