The praise showered on Matt Dufty throughout this season has been regular and hefty.
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On the back of an off-season in which he was told to explore his options elsewhere, the fullback has emerged as a rare bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season for the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Working closely with assistant coaches Shane Flanagan and James Shepherd, Dufty's improved playmaking skills have elevated his game to the next level.
While representative football may not be on his radar, the 24-year-old looks to have secured the Dragons No.1 jersey for the foreseeable future.
Instead of basking in his individual success, Dufty has felt as much, if not more, disappointment as his teammates as St George Illawarra prepare to sit out the finals for the second-straight year.
"When I was younger, if I had a good game or my game was alright, the loss didn't hurt as much," Dufty said. "But this year and moving forward I'd rather the team win and I play bad than I play good and we lose. All I want to do is win and I'm happy if the team wins.
"I've given everything I can to the club this year and the losses have hurt a lot more than losses in any other year. We started off the year with a real focus, it's a bit disappointing how it's ended. With our roster, the players and the fans expect more."
Dufty and his Dragons teammates are preparing to enter into an off-season filled with uncertainty.
New coach Anthony Griffin is expected to implement a number of changes, with Flanagan, Shepherd and head of high performance Nathan Pickworth not part of his plans for next year.
Current interim Dean Young has been offered a position. While he is yet to decide his future, Dufty urged his former under 20s coach to remain with St George Illawarra as they look to rebuild in the coming seasons.
"A change in coaching staff is a bit daunting for all the players. You don't know what to expect, you don't know how they're going to react to you as a person or a player so you're going into preseason with a point to prove.
"If Deano's there, it makes the transition a bit easier for some of the players that don't know [Griffin] but do know Deano. If Deano is going to stay, I'd be all for it."
While forward planning is well and truly underway at the Dragons, the side still has two more matches to play before the season is out.
Tough games with Newcastle and Melbourne loom, the two teams playing for positions inside the top eight.
St George Illawarra are playing purely for pride in the coming weeks, but that's more than enough to motivate Dufty.
"We definitely want to finish this year on a high. Deano and all the coaching staff have worked really hard too, they're here every day, they're here early figuring out a program for us. It wouldn't be right for us to finish the season off early, we've still got two games left.
"For me personally, I love Deano as a coach. I wouldn't feel right with myself if we didn't give 100% to finish the year off."