St George Illawarra forward Tyson Frizell has revealed he never contemplated departing the Dragons early after agreeing to terms with Newcastle.
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The NSW and Australian star will join the Knights in 2021, this season to be his last in the Red V.
While some players, have agitated to depart clubs before their existing contract expires, Frizell declared his commitment to the Dragons in 2020.
"Never at any point was I looking for the door," Frizell said. "Even the past week and even at the start of the year, there was no link of me looking elsewhere.
"I'm really happy with where I am at the moment. I still think we can do a lot with this side and that's my sole focus for me for the rest of the year, to do everything I can to get this team up where it should be."
At the time of the announcement, Frizell expressed his desire to win a premiership was among the key factors in his decision to move north.
That led to speculation the Origin star is unhappy in Wollongong, rumours he dispelled on Wednesday.
Instead, the opportunity for a new challenge in a new city after eight years with the Dragons was what led Frizell to sign with the Knights.
"There's no reason for me not being happy or anything like that. That didn't come into account in me making that decision to move elsewhere.
"I was just given a good opportunity to go to Newcastle. Also, I think I was ready for change in my life and in my career.
"Newcastle is a good opportunity for me to go up there and play the next few seasons. There's no big questions on why I did it, I just decided this is what I wanted to do and that's what I'm doing next year. There's no secrets behind why I'm moving."
The 28-year-old's departure comes amid a turbulent time for the side, St George Illawarra sitting 14th with one win from five matches.
While finals are unlikely, Frizell is determined to lead the Dragons to an improved position through the remainder of the year.
That task continues on Saturday when the side travels to Brisbane to take on the Titans in a virtual must-win clash ahead of dates with the Roosters and Raiders.
"We're just looking for improvement," Frizell said. "If we're looking to win, win, win, obviously we do want to win every single game we go out and play, but we always talk about sticking to the process.
"Gradual improvement is what we need in this side. We're not going to jump leaps and bounds straight away from what we've done on the weekend, but I'm sure if we improve from last week we'll definitely get a result that we're looking for."
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