Blake Lawrie has set his sights on becoming a genuine NSW State of Origin contender, while eying off a more manageable workload at St George Illawarra.
Lawrie was one of the few shining lights of the Dragons' poor 2023 season, confirming his status as one of the NRL's most consistent props.
A member of NSW's Emerging Blues squads in 2018, Lawrie has long been seen as a future middle in the representative arena.
But the 27-year-old's coming of age in first grade has coincided with the leanest patch in the Dragons' history as a joint-venture, amid five seasons out of the finals.
Lawrie is determined to be in representative calculations this season with a potential changeover in the NSW squad as Michael Maguire takes over as coach.
"I felt like I took my game to another level last time year and I want to take it to another level again," Lawrie said.
"I've obviously set myself goals and I would love to be in a representative conversation.
"But at the same time, I'm not going to be the representative conversation if we come last or second last again.
"I want to play finals footy at the Dragons and we have to be consistent and winning games.
"That's what we're going to be doing and we're confident in that. People might think that we're kidding ourselves, but we believe in our four walls and people we've got."
New coach Shane Flanagan has arrived in Wollongong with a heavy focus on fitness, after admitting the Dragons were not good enough in that department last season.
But for Lawrie that should mean shorter bursts on the field.
The front-rower was asked to play an average of 51 minutes last year, at times going through the first half unchanged amid concerns over the Dragons pack.
But the Wollongong junior is confident that won't be the case this year and it should in turn result in a better output.
"We've got a good competition here in the forwards when we're fit and healthy so there'll be no need for me to play those extended minutes," Lawrie said.
"My quality goes down (playing unchanged).
"You go in survival mode instead of attack. If it's needed I can. But same time I'd rather play my 25 or 30 minutes and leave nothing in the tank.
"Instead of having a set off and not having a carry to try and save myself.
"I'm not saying that I did that last year at all, but it's far more challenging to play those extended minutes as a front-rower."
