St George Illawarra Dragons winger, Tyrell Sloan, has voiced his desire to remain at the club long term.
Sloan opened up for the first time since the Dragons permitted him to speak to rivals in late June.
"I'm still contracted here next year and that's where my head's at at the moment," Sloan said to the media on Wednesday.
"I know what I'm worth and I'm still learning,"
"Each and every year is a different challenge and this year has been the same. It's a new position and I feel like I've really taken it with both hands."
"It's a new kettle of fish for me. I play wing and I haven't played wing full-time. It's been a different experience but I'm loving it. It's been good."
Sloan moves like a true athlete and can leave defenders behind with tantalising speed, not to mention his impressive contributions to the Dragons' attack, with 15 tries in 16 appearances, along with 33 tackle breaks and 18 line breaks.
Despite the fullback-turned-winger's consistent strike record and attacking prowess, this should not be grounds for the club to backflip on its decision regarding his future.
Why?
The fact of the matter is that Sloan has been a defensive liability throughout the season, with teams attacking his wing for guaranteed tries.
On paper, one could be mistaken that Sloan isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be, with only 12 tackles missed all season and a tackle efficiency score of 81 per cent.
However, there have been too many times when Sloan's poor defensive judgment has cost his team.
One of the most notable moments was in Round 20 against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
With the Dragons leading 18 - 16, and just over two minutes left on the clock, a defensive lapse from Sloan, deciding to rush up out of the line and jam in on thin air, allowed Lachlan Galvin to make a simple pass to winger Jethro Rinakama to win the game for the Bulldogs.
Or against the Brisbane Broncos in Round 13, where, in an almost identical situation to the Bulldogs game, Sloan unnecessarily rushed out of the line, bringing the Broncos back within four points and only three minutes to go.
Sloan was inevitably dropped after this game by coach Shane Flanagan and has only been brought back into the side due to the extensive injuries the club has faced regarding its wingers, with Christian Tuipulotu, Nathan Lawson and Sione Finau all on the sidelines.
It was only last season that freak try-scorer Mikaele Ravalawa was dropped from the side due to his underwhelming defence, ultimately leading to him being sent out on loan to the South Sydney Rabbitohs for this season.
In the words of the late Paul Bryant, "Offence sells tickets, defence wins championships", which is something the Dragons haven't come close to since 2010.
Therefore, if Flanagan, a coach who prides himself on defence, truly wants to turn this Dragons outfit into a premiership threat, he cannot backflip on his decision to let Sloan go, regardless of his talent in attack.
