FORMER NRL star Jamie Soward says he wouldn’t rule out a return to St George Illawarra if the club sent out an SOS call following the serious knee injury to young halfback Drew Hutchison.

The Dragons’ preparations for 2017 were thrown into disarray when Hutchison suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament at pre-season training on Thursday — the injury will see him sitting on the sidelines for most of the season.

The club have been quick to dismiss speculation linking the club with former NRL players Todd Carney and Chris Sandow, instead saying they’ll look internally for Hutchison’s replacement before considering other options.

If they do intend to look outside of the playing group, Soward, who guided the club to a premiership in 2010, says he’d be happy to sit down with them.

Round 20

Jamie Soward celebrates after winning the 2010 NRL grand final with the Dragons. Source: News Limited

“You want to play forever and obviously you’d sit down and listen to the offer,” Soward told Fox Sports News on Friday. “But I’d have to be given some time to get back in shape, make the decision and be 100 per cent committed. But you never say never.

“At the moment I’m enjoying watching the boys slog it out in pre-season.”

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Soward, 31, announced his retirement from rugby league just over a month ago after 12 seasons in the NRL and two stints in England.

But he admits it’d be hard to reject Red V coach Paul McGregor if he was guaranteed a starting spot in the halves alongside England international Gareth Widdop.

“It would be hard to turn down,” the former NSW Origin representative said.

“The position that I’m in, I’d like to think I wouldn’t be going in to trial.

“I’ve got enough runs on the board to come in and play halfback for the Dragons.”

Soward revealed he’d recently been down to Wollongong to watch the Dragons train and believes the club were right in not pursuing Carney and Sandow, not because of the duo’s off-field history, but because they wouldn’t have suited the makeup of the team.

Todd Carney and Chris Sandow are both looking to revive their NRL careers. Source: News Corp Australia

“I thought they might’ve had a little look at Todd,” Soward said.

“I think they both see them as similar players to Gareth: off-the-cuff.

“They need an organiser and someone that can take control and they saw Drew in that role.

“For them, they will need a dominant halfback that can get the team in good field position and march the troops around the right way and then let Gareth have the ball when he needs to.”

Promising playmaker Jai Field, who recently re-signed with the club for a further three seasons, has been mentioned as a contender for the spot, but Soward believes he’s a little while off first grade level.

Jai Field of the dragons scores a try during the Holden Cup between the Cowboys and the Dragons. Pic Darren England. Source: News Corp Australia

“He’s probably going to need six to 12 months of playing against men in reserve grade,” Soward said of the 19-year-old.

“For him it’s just about doing pre-season and getting some weight on where he can.

“If he’s good enough they’ll just throw him in there and back him.

“I think the Dragons will be a lot more attacking this year from what I saw at their training.

“For the Dragons to be successful, Gareth Widdop just needs someone to take control of the team so he can go out and enjoy his footy, much like in the Four Nations where he played well.”

If the club does stick to what they’ve got, Soward is backing former Raiders playmaker Josh McCrone to be in the No.7 jersey come round one.

Josh McCrone is now the frontrunner to partner Gareth Widdop. Source: News Corp Australia

“I think they might (pick him) to start the year,” he said.

“You might see Josh get the first two months and then see how Jai’s is going playing in NSW Cup.

“McCrone’s been around a while, he knows how to steer the team, he’s got a good kicking game. They’ll just have to work around what they want to do.

“Do they want to be more attacking? Yes. I think we all know the answer is yes, but they need a dominant halfback to take control of that team so the Dugans and Widdops can control the attack and have fun with it.”

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