Kaufusi taking it in his stride

Kaufusi was a late pick-up for the Dragons just days before the June 30 transfer deadline as a replacement for stood down star Jack de Belin.

The irony of coming up against his former club on Thursday wasn't lost younger brother of Queensland Origin star Felise, but he's confident a new start can reboot his 26-game NRL career.

"It's been pretty hectic, it all happened pretty quick," Kaufusi said.

"I was really excited and keen to get into it and once got into training and all that it felt a bit more real.

"There were some talks about [the move] for a few weeks and I said I'd be keen to move if I was going to get more of an opportunity.

"It arose and I thought I'd grab it and try and make the most of it. It wasn't that I wanted to get out [of Melbourne] it was just about the opportunity and getting a few more games in the NRL."

He came nursing a knee injury but logged a solid 70-minute shift in Canterbury Cup last week before making his top-grade debut for his new club in Thursday's loss to Melbourne.

"I think the boys did really well to hang in there and it's a game we really could have won," he said.

"I feel like the boys played well. There's definitely a lot of things personally that I can work on and I want to try and keep pushing to be out there in the NRL.

"That's the goal to just keep putting my best foot forward to try and extend [my time]."