Departing Dragons star Tyson Frizell has shut down suggestions he was seeking an early exit from the battling club ahead of his move to Newcastle next season.
St. George Illawarra's dire start to the year has been worsened with reports of a number of players wanting out, placing further heat on coach Paul McGregor whose days in charge of the struggling team seem numbered.
Teen freak Jason Saab has already had a release request denied by the club, while reports have linked boom youngster Tristan Sailor to an immediate exit also.
This week the Dragons granted veteran hooker Issac Luke, who only arrived over the off-season, an immediate release on compassionate grounds to facilitate a move to the Broncos.
MORE: Kalyn Ponga Immortal chat 'extremely premature', Gould says | The untold stories from Wednesday's round six NRL press conferences
While on Thursday the club also confirmed it had been in discussions with talismanic English international James Graham about cutting short the final year of his contract to enable a return home to the Super League.
Frizell penned a three year deal with the soaring Knights to join them next season, rumours surfaced suggesting the Origin and Kangaroos forward was hoping to cut loose from the under-performing Dragons this year.
But the back-rower is adamant his determination to see out his final year in the Red V has never waned.
"Never at any point was I looking for the door," the 28-year-old declared on Wednesday.
"Even the past week or the start of the year there was no link there for me to move elsewhere. I'm really happy with where I am at the moment.
"I still think we can do a lot with this side and that's my sole focus for me and the rest of the year, to do everything I can to get this team up to where it should be."
Building for Saturday 💪 #redv pic.twitter.com/VmRRcm7lPA
— St George Illawarra Dragons (@NRL_Dragons) June 18, 2020
Frizell's career has skyrocketed under McGregor's guidance, with the coach helping develop the local product into one of the best forwards in the game.
And Frizell is aspiring to be his side's best player this season to pay back his coach and the club he says he'll always call home.
"When you do decide to move elsewhere you want to leave on a high," Frizell said.
"For me this year I want to be the best player for the team and the club and leave on a high. They've given me so much in my career, I call this place home and I'm moving on next year.
"I want to be the best player for the team this year and I can leave on a high and leave the fans especially happy with what I've done for the club."
MORE: Super League return looms for Dragons veteran as club fields release request
The constant speculation surrounding players looking to leave the Dragons paints a poor picture for McGregor.
However, the pressure was relieved somewhat on the under-fire coach when the Saints claimed their first win of the season with Sunday's brave 30-16 of rivals Cronulla.
Admitting it offered a cause for celebration, Frizell said the team were looking at building some momentum with another improved effort against the Titans on Saturday.
"It's been a tough couple of weeks but the win on the weekend was really good, especially for a lot of the younger players," Frizell said.
"When you don't win any games for a while you tend to forget the feeling of what it's like to get a win.
"Gradual improvement is what we need in this side. We're not going to jump leaps and bounds straight away from what we've done on the weekend but I'm sure if we improve from what we did last week we'll get a result that we're looking for."
