Newcastle's 2026 premiership campaign includes three figures who came from the Sydney Roosters in 2025: Sandon Smith, England international Dom Young and head coach Justin Holbrook.
Holbrook is the unbackable favourite to win Dally M Coach of the Year later tonight.
Smith, 23, will face his former club in Sunday's NRL Grand Final as Newcastle's starting halfback, a year after the Roosters let him go.
The club's decision came ahead of Daly Cherry-Evans arriving from Manly, but Smith said he had no interest in proving anything to his old team.
"It's funny, it is a full circle moment going up against them (Roosters)," Smith admitted on Fox News.
"But there's no external motivation there, it's all about us."
He acknowledged Cherry-Evans' long career but said Newcastle's focus was on its own game and winning for the club and town.
"Daly has been a great player for the last 10-15 years, but I just want to go out there and play the style of footy to win a grand final for this great club and this great town," he added.
Smith also said he was looking forward to sharing the Grand Final field with former teammate and friend Sam Walker, though he would not speak to him during the week.
"It's going to be a special moment to share the field with Sammy (Walker), we've been good mates for a while," he said. "I won't talk to him this week but I'll see him out there, that'll be a pretty cool moment."