Watching Dale Finucane play footy you quickly get a sense he's not out there to make friends.
Hard-hitting, tough tackling and in your face for the entire 80 minutes; he often plays on the edge, even if it means walking a little too close to it sometimes.
Finucane is the equal third most penalised player in the Telstra Premiership and was placed on report in each of the opening two games this season before having both cases ultimately thrown out.
He doesn’t intentionally set out to push the boundaries, rather he believes it is simply just a by-product of his game.
"That's the style of footy I've always played I guess," Finucane told NRL.com.
"I like to go about my job and be pretty intense with what I do and hopefully that is reflected on the field."
Digging below his tough exterior, you get the sense that this is a player looking to make his mark on the game as much more than a physical player.
Finucane has started ever game for Melbourne this season since crossing from Canterbury on a three-year deal over the summer.
It may be early days at his new club but the young forward is desperate to prove he has a lot more strings to his football bow.
"I'm not where I want to be exactly in terms of how I want to play. I want to get my hands on the ball more and have some more involvement," Finucane said.
"I definitely want to try and offer a bit of variation around our guys in the middle.
"Being a bit of a smaller guy in comparison to the rest of the pack, playing that role within the team might suit me a little bit better as well."
Storm coach Craig Bellamy is a firm believer in the 23-year-old, who's style of play has certainly brought a point of different to the club.
"He's got a physical edge to him, his workrate and his intent on doing things, he's certainly added something to us no doubt," Bellamy said.
"Dale is that sort of guy that wants everything done perfectly. He's quite an impatient fella.. but I think he just needs to be a little bit patient to be quite honest until he gets more used to the players.
"We are very happy with the way he is tracking."
With just 70 NRL games under his belt, time is certainly on Finucane's side and with a new club and greater playing time the young forward will certainly not be short of opportunities to prove himself.
Melbourne will host the Warriors in their second home game of the year at 5pm on Easter Monday at AAMI Park.
