South Sydney star Sam Burgess admits he’s still far from the player that had many labelling him as the best forward in the NRL two years ago.

The dual-international had his first outing for the Rabbitohs since leaving for rugby union 15 months ago, punching out a typically busy 60 minutes in a trial against Gold Coast last Saturday before bowing out.

But ahead of Sunday week’s season-opener against arch rivals Sydney Roosters, Burgess said there were still some wrinkles he needed to iron out in his game.

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What they were exactly, he wanted to keep from the opposition.

“There were a few technical things I can improve on (from that game),” Burgess told AAP.

“I felt good, considering it’s been a while since I played rugby league. I can say I was a bit dusty in the first half but I found my second wind and managed to knock out a comfortable 60 minutes in the end.”

As a team though, the former club captain wasn’t afraid to come down hard on their ill-discipline against the Titans.

“We made quite a few errors in the first half, and we should be making it easier for ourselves. But it was good practice for us – hopefully we don’t make many in the first round,” he said.

A major key to South Sydney’s breakthrough premiership in 2014, Burgess has endured Jarryd Hayne-esque coverage since announcing his return to Redfern this season.

His highly-anticipated homecoming immediately re-ignited talk of the Rabbitohs’ premiership credentials, which took a hammering when they bowed out meekly in week one of last year’s finals.

Burgess refrained from making any predictions about their chances in 2016, but said players needed to believe in their ability to win a competition.

“Everyone talks about the premiership before a game’s even been played which, as a player, our minds aren’t there. Our minds are solely on round one,” he said.

“But first of all you’ve got to believe that you can do things before you actually do it yourself.”

– AAP