Dragons flyer Denan Kemp has thrown his hat into the ring for the coveted fullback role next season, insisting it will re-establish his menacing presence on the field.Free from injury and more determined than ever, the 24-year-old is striving to recapture the form which gave him a prominent role in highlights reels in 2007 and 2008. A household name under Wayne Bennett at the Broncos, Kemp has spent the past 18 months in rugby league obscurity after deals with his former club and then the Warriors fell down due to injury.
Full coverage of the DragonsFinding little enjoyment from a stint in rugby union, he turned down several rival club offers to sign with the Dragons for 2012."I just missed it - being with the boys every day and being a part of the team," Kemp said.Before a string of injuries which included six broken ribs and a collapsed lung, Kemp famously used footwork developed through football to counter the NRL's best defensive outfits.As a quick YouTube search can attest, he was once invincible in the Broncos backline, but the new signing believes there are additional elements to his game nowadays."In 2007 and 2008 I had really good years, 2009 was a bit unlucky and then I got injured in 2010," Kemp said."I guess this is the year that I really want to say that I am as good as people thought I would be. I want to be even better than what people thought I would be."I think I've improved on a lot of things over the years that I haven't been able to really show, and this is definitely a massive year for me and it's really important that I play my best footy."Kemp admits the departure of Darius Boyd and then Tim Moltzen from the Dragons, opening a vacancy for the prized No 1 jersey, made the club more appealing for his playing future."It was certainly one less person that's a decent footy player in that position," he said."It's definitely opened up a few doors for me but in saying that it doesn't mean I'm going to get the spot. I don't think he was going to get the fullback position, to be honest."He said newly appointed Steve Price's approach as a coach played an integral role in his decision to join St George Illawarra."He really impressed me as a person," he said."He had a lot of values in him that I saw that ... I realised would bring the best out in me."So I thought 'I'd like to come here'."I didn't really want to stuff around talking to other clubs; I just want to come to the Dragons and take every opportunity that's given to me."
