Cody Ramsey has finally found a home in the backs for the Red V, determined to become the club's long-term fullback as they look to consolidate their place in the top eight.
The 22-year-old Molong junior proved elusive at the back for the Dragons in their 12-10 victory over the Raiders with four tackle breaks and 98 run metres to further stake his claim for the number one jersey in Anthony Griffin's side.
Growing up in the country, Ramsey said he’s “played every position under the sun” but fullback will always feel like home — determined to fill the Dragons' fullback spot for the rest of the season after Tyrell Sloan and Moses Mbye both spent time in the role earlier this year.
“As a kid playing in the country, I just used to fill in everywhere on the field but fullback is definitely my position — I’m really enjoying the challenge and that’s where I want to be,” Ramsey told NRL.com after Sunday's hard-fought win.
“I've worked hard to get this position so I really need to keep up consistency to cement my spot there and hopefully that will help the boys keep winning games.
“The boys give me a lot of confidence, especially the forwards and Ben Hunt at half, I just try and follow him around and he sets it up. He just knows what to do.”
With WIN Stadium witnessing some of the most brutal conditions seen this season on Sunday, the explosive number one was faced with the ultimate test at fullback in the Dragons' fight for eighth position.
When Ramsey put down a bomb with 90 seconds to play, the Raiders had a chance to pull the game out of the fire.
The young fullback said the knock-on won't impact his confidence, instead focusing on the other 79 minutes of his impressive Round 16 performance.
“That’s as hard as a game gets for me as a fullback, the wind was blowing in my face and pushing me in my back, it was just very temperamental and I didn’t really know what to do out there,” he said.
“It was definitely a tough game, probably the hardest night under the high ball for me. Like, far out I had a shocker at the end there.
“But I think I’ve been really good under that high ball the past three games, especially with my confidence and catching, so this game really won’t affect me that’s for sure.
“I’m really going to aim up next week and get it right.”
Broncos v Dragons
The Dragons face a tough road trip to Brisbane this week to face the fifth-placed Broncos for Round 17 but the St George Illawarra side should be heading to Suncorp full of confidence with four wins from their past five games.
“The last 10 of that game was the longest 10 minutes of my life to be honest but what we’ve been talking about is aiming up on our defence because that’s’ what wins us games," Ramsey said.
“Six points should give you enough to win any game if you back it up in defence and don’t let any tries in and we held off there.
“We’ve done it against Rabbitohs and now we’ve done it against Raiders. We’ve shown that we can get into the nitty gritty games, dig deep and play hard."
Ramsey makes it 30