David Fifita turned his back on a move to Canberra.
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Now he's coming here with the Gold Coast Titans facing a fifth straight loss to start the NRL season.
The Raiders chased Fifita to bolster their second-row stocks in the lead-up to last season as they prepare for life when captain Elliott Whitehead retires, but the 24-year-old opted to re-sign with the Titans instead.
He again picked the Gold Coast when he had the chance to enact a get-out clause in his contract late last year following the sacking of former coach Justin Holbrook.
The Raiders have since brought in Zac Hosking, from the Penrith Panthers, and he's started his Green Machine career running - scoring two tries in his opening four games.
Hosking returns from concussion against the Titans at Canberra Stadium on Sunday night - with the pair set to go head-to-head on the Raiders right edge and Gold Coast's left respectively.
![The Raiders tried to lure David Fifita to Canberra. Now he's coming here with the Titans facing their fifth loss in a row. Picture Getty Images The Raiders tried to lure David Fifita to Canberra. Now he's coming here with the Titans facing their fifth loss in a row. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/7d2aa2c2-39c1-4173-8ecc-f0f006da2e8d.jpg/r0_33_3000_1720_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Hosking's proved the perfect cover for Whitehead, who has struggled with a calf injury at the start of the season and won't be fit until round 8 or 9.
While the Raiders have made a good start to the campaign - a win will solidify their spot in the top eight - the Titans haven't won a game.
The only reason they're not bottom of the ladder was because they've got two competition points for the bye.
They're also coming up against a Raiders team that's had the wood on them - having only one win from their past nine games.
But Raiders acting captain Joe Tapine knows how dangerous a fit-and-firing Fifita can be.
It'll be just Fifita's third game of the season as he continued his comeback from a pectoral injury.
Tapine said there wouldn't be any barbs traded with Fifita about his decision not to come to the capital.
"Not at all. That's a whole other department the boys don't worry about. We just go out and do our thing," he said.
"He's one of those guys that can create something out of nothing. We'll definitely watch out for him."
The Raiders will look to maintain their unbeaten home record, having beaten both the Wests Tigers and Parramatta Eels at Canberra Stadium so far this season.
Turning their home ground back into a fortress has been a focus this year.
They only won six of their 11 games at Canberra Stadium last year, while also winning their home game in Wagga Wagga.
"We've talked about making this our fortress - our home games and doing it for our home crowds. It's a big thing we build into the week," Tapine said.
He said there was no excuse for complacency against the lowly Titans.
They only had to think back to their game against Cronulla two weeks ago - when they shot out to an 18-point lead, only for the Sharks to run over the top of them.
The Green Machine bounced back with a convincing win over the Eels, with the focus now on not only getting back-to-back wins but stringing a run together.
"We can't be complacent, especially after that Sharks game," Tapine said.
"We've talked about it already, about starting the game how we did on the weekend [against Parramatta], and carrying on that form throughout the weeks coming."
NRL ROUND SIX
Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium, 6.15pm.
Raiders squad: 1. Chevy Stewart, 2. James Schiller, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Xavier Savage, 6. Ethan Strange, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papali'i, 9. Danny Levi, 10. Joe Tapine (c), 11. Hudson Young, 12. Zac Hosking, 13. Morgan Smithies. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Ata Mariota, 16. Trey Mooney, 17. Pasami Saulo. Reserves: 18. Kaeo Weekes, 19. Simi Sasagi, 20. Zac Woolford, 21. Nick Cotric, 22. Emre Guler.
Titans squad: 1. Jayden Campbell, 2. Harley Smith-Shields, 3. Brian Kelly, 4. AJ Brimson, 5. Jojo Fifita, 6. Kieran Foran, 7. Tanah Boyd, 8. Moeaki Fotuaika, 9. Chris Randall, 10. Jaimin Jolliffe, 11. David Fifita, 12. Beau Fermor, 13. Klese Haas. Interchange: 14. Sam Verrills, 15. Erin Clark, 16. Isaac Liu, 17. Josiah Pahulu. Reserves: 18. Joe Stimson, 19. Keano Kini, 20. Iszac Fa'asumaleaui, 21. Tony Francis, 22. Alofiana Khan-Pereira.