Fresh from his two-try haul that helped the Sharks somehow steal a 24-22 victory over the Wests Tigers on Saturday night, Kurt Capewell says he's more than happy to play the utility role in 2017 with an eye to one day slotting into the back row.
The 23-year-old has been a Mr Fix-It since joining the club last season, with the former Ipswich Jets back-rower showing his class with a stunning 73-minute performance off the bench in Week One of the 2016 finals against the Raiders that saw him make 39 tackles and run for 135 metres.
Capewell played on the wing in the World Club Challenge loss to Wigan earlier in the year and has already spent time on the flank, at centre, in the back row and on the bench in 2017.
With five players away on State of Origin duty, Capewell produced his best 80 minutes in first grade with two tries, an assist, four line breaks, eight tackle busts and 251 running metres at right centre in the two-point win over the Tigers.
"I think at the moment my best position is to be the utility; being able to slip in anywhere is pretty valuable in the game these days," he told NRL.com on Saturday night.
"I'm a solid build so I'm probably best suited to the back row but being able to slot into the centres is pretty handy for me and the team.
"I'm pretty happy with how I played, but I can't play like that without the help of my forwards, Chad Townsend and the other guys around me. I was lucky enough to get some early ball and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."
Having recently re-signed with the club for a further two seasons, Capewell is keen to learn as much as possible from experienced trio Luke Lewis, Wade Graham and Jayson Bukuya who he concedes are all ahead of him in the back-row pecking order.
"I've got Luke Lewis and Wade Graham and Jayson Bukuya in front of me and they're all great players. I love the type of footy those boys play. They play what's in front of them and that's something I want to emulate," he said.
"I'm just happy to keep doing what I'm doing and it's a great opportunity for me to keep learning as much as I can off those guys because they're champions of the game. Hopefully a spot will eventually open up and I'll take that opportunity with both hands if it happens."
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan says Capewell's days on the wing are over and admits it'll be hard to leave the in-form utility out of his squad moving forward.
"It's either centre or back row. He's definitely not a winger. He just filled in there for us earlier in the year. He can play in the centres, but I think moving down the track into next year he'll be a back-rower for us," Flanagan said.
"The way he played today, I don't think he'll be out of the 17 for too long."
