Dragons five-eighth Jamie Soward didn't have to think twice about the offer on the table.
Taking a major step towards spending the rest of his career wearing the Red V, Soward yesterday revealed he signed off on the three-year contract extension with St George Illawarra "straight away".
After a watershed year last season, where he represented Country Origin and played in the inaugural Indigenous All Stars team last month, Soward is intent on repaying the faith shown in him by coach Wayne Bennett.
POLL: Will the Dragons beat the Eels on Friday? Full coverage of the Dragons Soward - set to earn about $900,000 over the three years - has spent most of his career living with uncertainty about his playing future.
Having scored a record 351 points in the 2004 Jersey Flegg season, Soward struggled to establish himself at the Roosters and was dumped by former Dragons coach Nathan Brown for the 2008 qualifying final loss to Manly.
Soward admits he at times questioned how long he had left in the NRL.
But under the guidance of Bennett, Soward scored 234 points last season and was the Dragons' major attacking strike weapon.
"Wayne and (St George Illawarra chief executive), Peter (Doust) and (recruitment manager) Craig (Young) have shown their faith in me to get (my contract) tied up for what will be the next four years now once I play this year," Soward said.
"It's just good to get it out of the way, so we don't have the whole, 'he's going, he doesn't want to stay' rubbish that carries on. I said to Wayne I don't want to play it out in the media, I want to stay here and they put a good deal on the table.
"I just took it straight away."
His connection with Bennett came from a phone call in 2008 in the weeks after Bennett announced he would coach the Dragons.
The master mentor made it clear that Soward had a future at the club.
"When I first came to the Dragons, it was the last club to maybe make a name, or play first grade at," he said.
"If I didn't make it here I probably wasn't going to make it anywhere.
"Wayne called me halfway through 2008 and said 'I'm coming next year and I see you in my plans'.
"He put the faith in me to stay and now I'm looking to get on with playing footy."
Soward's signing came on the same day Parramatta wonder boy Daniel Mortimer re-signed with the Eels, knocking back a lucrative offer to join the Bulldogs - the club where his father Peter and uncles Steve and Chris became household names in the 1980s.
Preparing to take on Mortimer in the season opener at Parramatta Stadium on Friday night, Soward expects the 20-year-old playmaker to emerge as one of the game's best this season.
"I enjoy watching him play and I enjoy some of the things he does as a footballer," Soward said.
"He's definitely going to be a superstar that's for sure and if we can keep blokes like that in the game and with their clubs it's definitely a plus for the game."
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