The long-time Brisbane winger was a hasty addition to the Townsville-based club this season after Ben Barba's axing.

So quick was his exit from Red Hill that Kahu didn't have a chance to tell his teammates in person, instead drafting a quick goodbye on the players' WhatsApp group chat and then exiting the group.

He says it's taken a few weeks to build up the courage to throw some banter around in the Cowboys' equivalent.

But ahead of Friday's reunion with his former side at Suncorp Stadium, that's started to change.

"There is plenty of banter; the first two weeks I was probably just reading everything and not replying but now I'm a little more familiar, I'm a bit more involved," he said.

"(Playing for the Cowboys) hasn't hit yet. I think it will when I'm staying in a Brisbane hotel, catching a bus to the ground and going into the other sheds.

"It'll be weird playing against lots of the guys for the first time - we'll go hard on each other and catch up afterwards."

The Cowboys beat St George Illawarra 24-12 to open their season as Jason Taumalolo ran for a career-best 301 metres.

Kahu said playing behind a dominant pack was a big reason for the move after nearly 10 years in Brisbane, where he sensed he would be down the 2019 pecking order under new coach Anthony Seibold.

"It was a no-brainer really ... JT's power, footwork; I don't know how to explain it, he's just freakish," Kahu said of his former New Zealand teammate Taumalolo.

"But we're still jelling, still figuring things out and getting there slowly."

Australian Associated Press