Try telling Josh Drinkwater the Dragons have nothing left to play for this season.

Just weeks ago, Drinkwater was on the outer, playing with Illawarra Coal League club Helensburgh after being dropped from the NSW Cup.

But after a 17-week exile since making his debut against Newcastle in round five, Drinkwater came off the bench in Sunday’s loss to Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.

The finals dream may have been dashed for the Dragons, but Drinkwater said he is determined to prove his NRL worth to coach Steve Price in the remaining month of games.

‘‘Personally, I’ve been a little bit disappointed with my form,’’ Drinkwater said.

‘‘I’ve come down here [to Wollongong] and had a really good preseason and I don’t think I’ve played as well as I should have this year.

‘‘But there’s still a few games to go, hopefully I can finish it with some form and take that into next season.’’

Struggling for depth in the halves - compounded by Kyle Stanley’s season-ending injury - Drinkwater was bought from Manly’s under 20s as a backup option to Nathan Fien.

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His chance came against the Knights, but Drinkwater has spent the rest of the year toiling away for the Illawarra Cutters, until he was dropped when the Dragons picked up Harry Siejka.

In 2008, Brett Morris played for Helensburgh when St George Illawarra were without a feeder club and it turned his career around. He went on to play for NSW and Australia.

While Drinkwater isn’t holding such lofty ambitions, he credits the time with the Tigers as the catalyst for his improvement in form.

On his return to the NSW Cup, Drinkwater snapped a 40-metre field goal at WIN Stadium to seal victory against the Auckland Vulcans, paving the way for his NRL return last week.

‘‘Obviously the club is always trying to boost their stocks and there’s been injuries in the halves and Jamie [Soward] left us during the year,’’ Drinkwater said.

‘‘[The Dragons signing Siejka] didn’t faze me too much.

‘‘Obviously I was disappointed to drop out of the Cutters team and play with Helensburgh, but Helensburgh was the best thing for me.

‘‘It gave me a bit of confidence back to play some decent footy.’’

Boom youngster Charly Runciman, who comes back from a hamstring injury, is another Dragons player grateful for the chance to prove himself on the field.

Runciman has been named on the wing for the Dragons, outside Daniel Vidot, after Jason Nightingale switched to fullback to replace the injured Josh Dugan.

‘‘I was definitely unsure, I thought I would start in the Cutters again,’’ Runciman said.

‘‘I’m just really thankful to get the opportunity, we do have a lot to play for I think.’’