Alofiana Khan-Pereira remembers all too well the troubled times under coach Des Hasler when he battled to crack a smile at the Gold Coast Titans.
But now he is loving life, and thriving, under Andrew Webster at the Warriors.
His new teammates can't believe Khan-Pereira's horror stories about the Titans, coached then by Hasler.
The try-scoring ace fell out of Hasler's favour and contended with hamstring issues during a tough final season at the struggling Titans in 2025.
The now-axed Hasler at times preferred Jaylan de Groot, Allan Fitzgibbon and Jojo Fifita to speedy winger Khan-Pereira despite him scoring 53 tries in 54 games for the Titans.
They battled to avoid the wooden spoon eventually finishing 16th, and it deflated the local product.
"It was pretty self-explanatory (at the Titans). We were where we didn't want to sit on the table," Khan-Pereira told AAP.
"It is tough losing, you don't fall out of love for the game but you don't come to training smiling, do you? It's heavy. If you don't win, it's a different training session on Monday."
Gold Coast released Khan-Pereira from the final year of his contract to join the Warriors, where he also struggled for game time early in 2026.
But Khan-Pereira has since crossed for tryscoring doubles in three of four games since Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's move to the centres cleared a spot on the wing.
It's made the 24-year-old grateful for a fresh start.
"I just got out of there (Gold Coast) in a place I didn't really want to stay at. Bigger and better things here, I don't regret it at all," he said.
"I love New Zealand and I'm loving the boys ... I'm just so happy and still got a big year ahead of us."
Webster's calmer presence has proven a change of pace as compared to that of two-time premiership winning coach Hasler.
Hasler made headlines in 2025 for a video that captured him furiously ordering players out of the dressing-room showers for his post-match address.
"It's new school, from old school 'Dessie'. It's different, it's very different (at the Warriors)," Khan-Pereira said.
"I've got a lot of funny stories that I tell the boys that they don't believe. If you were there, you'd understand."
Before joining the Warriors, Khan-Pereira had admired Webster's ability to inspire his players into career-best form.
Mitch Barnett, Tanah Boyd, Erin Clark and Jackson Ford are among those to have transformed from journeymen into elite NRL talents under Webster.
"I have massive respect for 'Webby'. He was one of the reasons why I moved over to New Zealand," Khan-Pereira said.
"Just how he understands each player's position. You make a decision and he'll back you. It's the confidence that he gives in you and then you display that out on the field."
