Kieran Foran has signalled he's ready to return to his brilliant best and turn around Canterbury's NRL fortunes.
Foran was outstanding in his first outing for the Bulldogs despite going down to Melbourne 36-18 in Perth on Saturday.
After two years in which he was beset by shoulder and hamstring injuries, off-field controversies and a well-publicised battle with personal problems, New Zealand halfback looked like the Foran of old.
With his first touch of the ball he sent Raymond Faitala-Mariner through a hole to open the scoring at Optus Stadium.
Along with Faitala-Mariner and Moses Mbye, Foran was a standout in what was new coach Dean Pay's first game in charge.
His combination with five-eighth Matt Frawley showed plenty of promise that the Dogs could do something in this year's competition.
"It's a new combination, it's going to take a little bit of time," Pay said of the Foran-Frawley partnership.
"They've worked really hard in the off-season, today is a starting point, we can only go forward."
Foran finished with two try assists and one linebreak assist as he seeks to rebuild his career following his return to Australia.
He was recruited by Des Hasler to turn around the side's attacking woes and while his former mentor - who he worked with at Manly - has departed Belmore, it's showing signs of being an astute signing.
The Dogs under Hasler last year were accused of lacking imagination and failing to play expansive football because of basic errors.
However, with Foran calling the shots, the Dogs looked crisp and capable of enterprising play and Pay predicted they'd be a new-look outfit in 2018.
"We've got some outside backs that are quick and we need to get the guys the footy there," Pay said.
"We've come up with a few different ways of doing that and we're going to shift the ball, that's what we're looking for and we need our middle guys doing their job first.
"We'll look to shift on the back of that, we've changed quite a few things to what they've been doing in the past."
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