He has been known as International Dell, but Wendell Sailor has found his home in Wollongong.
The public face of the Dragons in many ways, 34-year-old Sailor puts his resurgence as an NRL player down to a decision to move to Wollongong.
Originally from Sarina in North Queensland, Sailor feels like he is back at home.
Full coverage of The St George Illawarra Dragons"For me it comes back to being a country boy," he said.
"The beautiful beaches remind me so much of where I grew up and that's where I want to live.
"Playing at NRL level you often think you're living in a fish bowl but around here everyone is so easygoing.
"It's so relaxed and I just love it."
Under long-time mentor Wayne Bennett, Sailor has scored 13 tries this season, as St George Illawarra have dominated the NRL.
But the flamboyant winger is a happy family man before a footballer.
"Wayne has always made a point to me that if your family life is happy everything else will follow," Sailor said.
"I'm enjoying my football because my wife and kids are so happy here (in Wollongong)."
Dragons players - from Illawarra junior and captain Ben Hornby to latest signing Nathan Fien - along with Bennett and his coaching staff from the Broncos have voted with their feet, with the majority of them setting up digs in and around Wollongong this year.
The influence of the Illawarra side of the partnership has grown, with the first truly independent coach of the club in Bennett.
For the first time there is talk of a regional final at WIN Stadium after several years, where preliminary finals have been automatically pencilled in for the Sydney Football Stadium or ANZ Stadium.
It marks a shift of power in the merger between St George and Illawarra, which was seen by many as more of a takeover than a shared franchise back in 1999.
For 10 years, there have been rumours of splits in the playing group along the lines of the two former clubs and a series of underachieving seasons.
The feeling is starting to excite Dragons board member and Steelers chairman Peter Newell, who said the merger had saved NRL football on the South Coast.
"We wouldn't be here without our friends (at St George)," Newell admitted.
"They still put in a lot more (money) than us but I have noticed that there is a bit more acceptance (of the merger) as the players have moved down here.
"But winning helps of course."
This year the players are together as a group and even though they are not the most talented group to wear the Red V in the joint venture's history, they appear the most likely to deliver a premiership.
WIN Stadium has become the centre of their football training - complemented by the state-of-the-art facilities at the University of Wollongong and Beaton Park - so it makes sense for the players to live close by.
However, Sailor needed some convincing to make the move south.
"Wayne was the master at getting me down here," he admitted.
"He said to me I should consider coming down here to live and I said 'Wayne I'm a little unsure about taking the kids out of school again' and that I had to ask (wife) Tara.
"But I think it is the best thing I have done.
"At the age of 34 or 35 you can't be sitting in the car and doing all that travelling back and forth.
"I can walk the kids to school and walk down to training and the relaxed lifestyle really suits me.
"My kids love it here and they say 'Dad, we don't want to move back to Brisbane or Sydney'."
Sailor has played State Of Origin and Test football for Australia in both rugby league and rugby union but it's his family - wife Tara, son Tristan, 11, and daughter Matissa, 6 - who rule his life. They bring a joy to Sailor that crossing the line or winning a premiership cannot match.
New signings Michael Weyman, Jeremy Smith and Nathan Fien also love the relaxed pace of Wollongong, while South Coast juniors like Hornby, Ben Creagh and Matt Cooper enjoy living and playing in the region where they grew up.
"I've had a couple of chances to leave and the main reason I've stayed is because I love Wollongong so much," Cooper, a Shellharbour junior, said.
"I was born and bred here, this is my local town.
"It's not as big as Sydney but (we) have everything down here.
"It's a great place to be, I love the weather and the beach.
"If I get a chance to talk to a player who is thinking about signing, (the lifestyle) would be one of my selling points.
"The guys who have signed with the club love living in Wollongong - one example of that is Wendell. He loves it here and he's going to stay here after football."
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