St George Illawarra's Josh Dugan isn't settled on his long-term position but acknowledges Jarryd Hayne's defection could sway him into returning to playing full-time in the No.1 jersey for the Dragons.
After making his mark in the NRL at fullback, Dugan spent a large chunk of last season at centre following Paul McGregor's appointment as coach mid-season. His form saw him picked for the Blues at centre in the final two Origin games and had it not been for a thumb operation, Dugan would have made his Kangaroos debut in the Four-Nations.
Now Dugan has asked McGregor if he can spend time in both spots as the Dragons returned to pre-season training this week.
"We haven't done too much positional stuff yet," Dugan said. "We had a chat with Mary [McGregor] about what we wanted to do in the pre-season and I said I would like to do a bit of both. I'm leaving that up to him.
"I've only scratched the surface at centre. I played a handful of games there and two of them were in Origin. I thought I did pretty well. I can improve and keep working on things that will make me a better centre. It's up to Mary to work out where I play and what's the best fit for the team."
Dugan's position won't be finalised until the Dragons settle on next year's roster. Already Test winger Brett Morris has left the club, while utility back Gerard Beale could also be on his way out.
After being called to fill a void at centre for the Blues last series, Dugan could do the same next year but this time at fullback, following Hayne's shock attempt to make an NFL team.
Dugan said the No.1 opening had played on his mind "a little bit".
"But that's a long time away," Dugan said. "I've got to be playing good footy to even get there in the first place. There's a couple of young fullbacks doing great things. Matt Moylan in the Aussie squad. It'll be fun competition.
"[This year] was tough on the body. It's disappointing not to be in the Australian squad because that's one of my goals. I got away from everything and tried to relax. It was a gruelling season."
Having joined the club's leadership last season, Dugan has maintained a settled life away from the football field. He has completed a first aid course and is looking to do his diploma in mental health, social and community welfare before progressing to university.
Dugan said he understood the influence he could have on his younger teammates.
"I was picked in the leadership group and that woke me up a lot in terms of the impact I can have on the players around me," Dugan said. "It made me think twice about doing things and made me make the right decisions on and off the field. That's not going to change now. When I was coming through there were a lot of younger Canberra players. When we were all coming through, we were all coming through together. We couldn't look to too many players for that guidance, like the depth we have now."
