Royce Hunt admits he wasn't up to standard during a poor first year at Wests Tigers, conceding he needed to take a long, hard look in the mirror over the off-season.
After arriving at Wests from Cronulla with the job of helping turn around the Tigers' pack last year, Hunt spent the middle part of 2025 languishing in NSW Cup.
The 30-year-old admits he only had himself to blame after letting his fitness slip, and he will run out 7kg lighter for Saturday's clash with North Queensland at Leichhardt Oval.
"I feel a lot better this time this year than I did last year," Hunt said.
"I had to put my head down during off-season and really work hard and get down to where I wanted to be.
"I just got too comfortable. I don't know why, but my standards slipped a bit."
His lack of fitness led to him being dropped after 11 games for the Tigers last year.
"A few games before I got dropped I just felt tired. I had to look at why my standards were dropping," Hunt said.
"I went and spent a few weeks down at Cup and then came back up (to the NRL) and had a bit of a chip on my shoulder.
"I finished the year off in decent shape, but this year I'm hoping to start strong and carry that through the season."
The former Samoan international said some tough conversations with his wife Shavaun had helped wake him up to the issue, one season into his three-year deal with the Tigers.
"My wife and I, we debrief a lot," Hunt said.
"I had a good chat to her and we came to the conclusion that I just got a bit too comfortable.
"She's been there from the start, been with us since I was 16, so she's rode this whole roller-coaster with me."
With the Tigers' pack boosted by the likes of Bunty Afoa and Kai Pearce-Paul this season, Hunt is adamant they have a middle teams should fear.
But he also knows he must stay on top of his own fitness to help lead the club's charge to a first NRL finals series since 2011.
"It was probably the first time for me (my standards have slipped)," Hunt said.
"At the Sharks, it was driven pretty hard, especially by the older boys ... it was just a standard that we kept all the way.
"Coming here I was one of the older boys and I didn't drive those standards. This year we are keeping those standards."
