Less than two years ago, Josh Dugan arrived at the Dragons cap in hand needing a club to resurrect his floundering career.

It was a very different player who returned to preseason training this week to prepare for the 2015 season - his seventh in the NRL - with the same club now seemingly needing him more than ever.

It's just the latest twist in a rollercoaster career that seems to have lasted much longer than Dugan's 98 games.

The ups and downs continued through the 2014 season, his first full campaign in the Red V.

Dugan missed the start of the season through injury, returned in time for the sacking of Steve Price, made a positional switch, won an Origin series and returned to Canberra for the first time since being sacked by his junior club.

It finished with an untimely thumb injury that denied him a maiden Test jumper. It's little wonder he used the down time thinking about anything but football.

"I got away from everything and tried to relax," Dugan said.

"It was a gruelling season. To lose Pricey with Mary [Paul McGregor] taking over it was a bit of a rollercoaster. It was tough on the body. It's a good thing to get a rest. It's disappointing not to be in the Australian squad because that's definitely one of my goals.

"I'm looking forward to getting back to training and getting my body right. It's always good to get around the boys again."

It was a tough year on the paddock as the Dragons, despite Dugan's own red-hot form, missed the finals for the third straight year.

They've returned for the 2015 season amid Brett Morris' high profile exit and the club's salary cap issues.

It leaves the Dragons' fortunes resting even more heavily on Dugan's shoulders but the 24-year-old is undaunted, embracing the leadership role he credits with resurrecting his career last season.

"I was picked in the leadership group and that woke me up a lot," Dugan said.

"It made me think twice about doing things and made me make the right decisions on and off the field. That's not going to change now."

While he knows what he'll be doing off the field, Dugan is still unsure about where he'll play on it following a hugely successful switch to centres with NSW and the Dragons last year.

Jarryd Hayne's decision to leave the NRL and chase his NFL dream in the US leaves the door open for Dugan to reclaim the No 1 jersey at club and Origin level but he'll leave that decision to McGregor, the man who originally masterminded the move.

"I've only scratched the surface at centre," Dugan said.

"I played a handful of games there and two of them were in Origin. I thought I did pretty well.

"I can improve and keep working on things that will make me a better centre.

"I had a chat with Mary about what we wanted to do in the preseason and I said I would like to do a bit of both. It's up to Mary to work out where I play and what's the best fit for the team."