HE'S a Dragon no more but that feeling is yet to fully sink in for departing skipper Gareth Widdop. The fact he's, as yet, only swapped the red V for the red and white of England for this weekend's World 9s probably doesn't help.
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It is a fact, however, that he won't be returning to Wollongong when the end-of-season Test campaign concludes.
Instead, he'll be heading to the UK to take up a rich deal with Super League giants Warrington and only then will it really hit home.
"It has a little bit obviously the last couple of weeks packing things up," Widdop said.
"At the Dragons awards night it hit me a little bit, it was good night and a good send off but, at the end of the day, I don't think it'll really sink in until it's all done and dusted it will.
"I've still been around the boys, I've been training and there's a still a bit of buzz around the Nines and the GB tour so my mind's pretty set on that.
"I think when this [Great Britain] tour's over and I have that bit of time off and it's time to fly it probably will hit me."
The opportunity to link with the Wolves was only made possible when the Dragons agreed to the release their skipper from the final two years of a lucrative deal.
It came as a shock when he first asked for the release in February but, having moved to Melbourne with his family as a teenager, it was a pilgrimage he always planned to make.
"I've always spoken about my journey coming over here as a young kid I never got to play in the Super League," he said.
"All I ever wanted to do was play over there. It's quite funny I suppose, [Englishman] generally grow up in England, play over there and dream about coming over here.
"For myself I've done it the other way around, played in the NRL and dreamed about playing in the Super League.
"I've been very thankful to play over here for 10 years but at some point I always wanted to go back.
"You never really know when it's going to happen but it's something that came up and I'm really looking forward to getting over there while I'm still young and fit and winning trophies."
The latter fact is not a given in the game, something Widdop's become acutely aware of how finite rugby league careers can be after twice dislocating his shoulder.
He admits the first, suffered in his side's finals win over Brisbane last year, factored into his decision to hasten a shift to England.
The second, that required a second surgery and sidelined him for the bulk of his final season with the Dragons only made him more comfortable with the call.
"This last year with the injuries has made me a lot more comfortable with the decision, knowing I'm going now, I'm still feeling good, I'm still feeling fit," he said.
"You never know what happens with injuries, it can finish you really quick. If I wait another couple of years the opportunity might not come up again.
"I didn't want to end up kicking myself."