With rumours continually persisting that Darius Boyd will follow master-coach Wayne Bennett out of the Dragons at the end of 2011, Kyle Stanley has emerged as the man favoured to take the coveted fullback spot.
Stanley had his own concerns about his future at the club, when Wayne Bennett announced that he was leaving, but any doubt was quickly put to bed, after he was re-signed until the end of the 2014 season by the Dragons yesterday.
Stanley, who is still only 20 years old, had more attractive offers from rival clubs, but he made the decision to stay at the Dragons, and he has his sights set on the fullback jersey.
“Definitely, if the opportunity comes I’ll take it with both hands,” Stanley said.
“Fullback nowadays is like a second five-eighth or something, so at least I get my hands on the ball and I’ll be ball-playing out the back and hopefully doing what Darbs does this year.
“I’ve mainly played in the halves [as a junior], but fullback is like another half anyway, so it will come pretty naturally if I play there next year. I can just inject myself whenever I want. I’ll have that roaming role, so it would be a good task for me.”
Re-signing Stanley shows the good intentions from Bennett in keeping the core of the younger players together for the future, despite his leaving the club.
Bennett believes that Stanley would be more than capable of making a move to fullback at some time in the future.
“He’s just a footballer,” the veteran coach said.
“He can play anywhere. No matter where you want to play him, he can play. He’s an exceptional talent.”