New Catalans recruit Justin Horo has admitted that he always had his heart set on a move to Super League.
The former Manly star has joined up with the Dragons on a two-year deal, joining the likes of Pat Richards and Glenn Stewart in swapping Australia for France.
And after securing himself a crack at Super League, the 28-year old is determined to lay down a marker from the start.
“I’ve always seen myself coming over here and finishing in Super League,” said Horo.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of guys that have come over here and they’ve all really enjoyed the lifestyle. It’s a good standard of footie over here and I’m looking forward to reinventing myself and proving myself again.
“At Catalans in particular, coming over to France and the lifestyle it provides was very exciting for me. I wanted to come over here with plenty of good footie still left in me. I didn’t want to come too late and just try to get a pay packet.
“I felt like I was still playing some good footie in the NRL but I just needed a new challenge and I thought this was the right time to come over. I’m looking forward to being in a new league and proving myself again.”
Despite his eagerness to tackle Super League, he was also keen in weighing up his options, discussing his potential move with a number of past and present Catalans colleagues before confirming his departure from the Sea Eagles, where he made 18 appearances last season.
“I’ve played with Glenn Stewart at Manly, but I also spoke to Krisnan Inu who I played with at Parramatta.
“I actually grew up with Zeb Taia who ironically is heading back home. I grew up with him from a young age and I asked him about the club in general.
“I’ve met Todd Carney a few times and been sending him a few messages and he’s been a massive help getting me sorted over here which is great. All those boys spoke about how it was such a great club and it helped my decision.”
Pre-season is underway at Catalans, and Horo revealed that the squad have already discussed what they can achieve this season.
“One of the first conversations we had was that there is high expectations with the squad that we’ve got,” he said.
“Even within the playing group we’re looking around and thinking we have a good chance of giving the comp a good crack. I think the fans and members and the owners and staff have high expectations of us but we do as well.”
