Dragons utility Adam Quinlan believes he is far better equipped to handle the ups and downs of an NRL campaign after admittedly struggling to deliver on the "livewire" tag over the latter half of the 2014 season.

Quinlan looked unburdened by expectation in the opening rounds of the competition after Josh Dugan suffered a knee injury in the Dragons' Charity Shield loss to the Rabbitohs.

His energy from the back proved the spark to ignite the Dragons attack as they won their opening three matches.

Such was the 22-year-old's impact former coach Steve Price even briefly experimented with Quinlan at halfback when Dugan returned.

He was recalled to the top grade as new coach Paul McGregor looked to arrest a slide as the Dragons lost seven of eight matches.

Dugan offered to switch to the centres to accommodate Quinlan in the line-up.

No longer a fill-in but a first-choice selection, Quinlan said he learned how tough it is to produce top form week in, week out in the NRL, eventually losing his spot to Gerard Beale for the final three rounds of the year.

"It was a bit up and down," Quinlan said. "I was happy with how I started the year but coming back in I was a bit inconsistent.

"I think the start of the season was the better half of the season for me. I think I felt the pressure a bit at the back-end of the year. I had a few good games and I had a couple of bad ones as well, so I'd like to be a lot more consistent than that.

"I don't know if it was extra pressure or what it was. I wasn't happy with the way it finished."

After navigating the traditionally tough second season in the NRL, Quinlan is confident he can produce much more consistently should he get the opportunity next year.

"I might have let things get into my head and overplay things a little bit but I don't think that's going to affect me again," he said.

"I'm a lot better for the experience and those up-and-down games could help me in the long run to deal with the ups and downs a bit better in the future.

"I'm only young and I've still got a lot to work on and that's what I'm here to do this preseason.

"I just want to keep getting better and better."

A wealth of depth in the centres will likely see Dugan return to fullback in 2015 but Quinlan said his first full season in first grade has taught him to be ready when opportunity knocks.

"I've been training mainly at fullback but there's a lot of competition in all the spots and that's a good thing," he said.

"It'll be tough to get a crack but hopefully I get the chance to get out there and prove myself."