Zac Lomax has not given up hope he could start round one at centre as he prepares for the possibility of becoming a full-time winger under new St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan.
Rated the Dragons' fittest player this pre-season, Lomax has operated at centre since 2020, when then-coach Paul McGregor scrapped pre-season plans for a switch to fullback.
Flanagan had also toyed with the possibility of moving the highly paid Lomax to fullback, with Tyrell Sloan yet to find consistency at No.1 in his young career.
Jack Bird's shift back to the centres has instead pushed Lomax to the wing, where he will start for Saturday's Charity Shield pre-season game against South Sydney.
Lomax, who last started at wing in round two of the 2020 season, struggled to hide his frustration when quizzed on Wednesday about the position he would play long-term.
"It's been a while. We'll see how it goes on Saturday," he said.
"I like to see myself as a footy player, I'll play wherever.
"(Playing wing) is just the way it is at the moment."
Lomax has trained at fullback, centre and wing during pre-season as the Dragons plot to improve on last year's 16th place.
But the 24-year-old, long tipped as a NSW State of Origin prospect, is unequivocal about where he would play in a perfect world.
"Centre's my favourite position," he said.
'I'm just doing what's best for the team and that's me at wing at the moment."
One thing is clear amid the selection uncertainty: Lomax has been on fire in the Dragons' camp this pre-season.
"He loves to rub everyone's face in it," centre Moses Suli told AAP.
"He'll tell everyone about it, even locals around here, that he's probably the fittest in the team.
"I'll give it to him, he's a hard trainer and you see that on the field when you're playing."
Second-rower Jaydn Su'A backed Lomax for a big 2024 after the back controversially spent two weeks out of the first-grade side in the final days of Anthony Griffin's coaching tenure last season.
"He's a freak, honestly probably one of the best athletes I've ever seen in terms of training, gym," Su'A told AAP.
"We're looking forward to seeing what he's learned over the pre-season. He's in for a big year."
