Dragons forward Tyson Frizell pumped up for NRL season

He's the undisputed king of the Dragons' gym but back-row powerhouse Tyson Frizell plans on spending a lot less time there this year than he did during an injury-riddled 2014 season.

Playing in the front row, Frizell was the Dragons' form forward over the opening rounds of last season, scoring a double in their round-one victory over the Tigers as they won their opening three matches.

A foot injury suffered in a round-four loss to Brisbane kept him sidelined for two games before an ankle syndesmosis injury in round 14 ruled the 23-year-old out for the next seven weeks as he underwent surgery. He returned for the final four matches of the year but struggled to regain top form after spending little time on the training paddock.

Go to the Dragons Den

He found a silver lining, using time in the gym to turn himself into the club's strongest forward, but it was a frustrating time for the Welsh international.

"I hadn't been injured before, so I guess it was a learning curve," Frizell said.

"I'd been lucky with injuries my whole career up until last year. I started off well but then I had that break during the year and I struggled towards the back end of last year.

"It was tough but I'm a lot fitter and stronger than I was last year, so I'm really looking forward to the year ahead."

The Dragons' lack of size last year forced Frizell to play almost exclusively at prop.

He's been switched back to his more customary edge back-row position this year, where he's relishing running off Benji Marshall.

"It is where I like to play. It's where I've played most of my career," he said.

"Last year I was doing OK in the middle there and that's where the coach wanted me, so I spent a bit of time there. I find myself back out on an edge at the moment and I'm loving my time there. It's my first pre-season with Benji and it's handy to have someone with all his knowledge inside me telling me what to do. We've spent a lot of time together through the pre-season and we're just looking forward to the start of the season."

They may have passed their first test against Souths in Saturday's Charity Shield but Frizell said the Dragons pack hasn't forgotten the taunts of "soft" directed at them at various stages last year.