It's been a rollercoaster 18 or so months for South Sydney Rabbitohs star James Roberts - but in 2020, his focus has shifted well away from individual accolades to claiming his first NRL title.

The 26-year old was a part of the 2018 State of Origin winning side for NSW, but a year later had moved clubs and fallen out of favour with Blues selectors.

Brisbane shopped him around, and former coach Wayne Bennett obliged and brought the Rabbitohs junior back to where his career started.

MORE: Knights lose star forward

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for Roberts after moving back to Redfern, struggling for consistency at the club he made his debut for almost a decade earlier.

But Roberts looks fitter, faster and more focused than ever heading into this season - and told Sporting News on Tuesday about his new goals after some time to reflect in the off-season.

“It’s good to have a full pre-season, get the head right I suppose and get the confidence back," he said.

"My body is feeling pretty good, and I can’t wait to play some footy.

“It would be nice to get back into Origin, but it’s not really a goal of mine to be honest.

"My main objective now is to win a comp, tick that box and that’s all I’m focused on.

"I just want to play some good footy for Souths, and if anything else comes then so be it. I’m not too fussed about anything else at the moment."

Roberts looked at his exciting best in last weekend's All Stars clash, and appears to have put the injuries that plagued him last year in the rear-view mirror.

MORE: Rabbitohs star going nowhere

The La Perouse Panthers junior was on deck on Tuesday morning for the announcement of long-time friend Adam Reynolds as the club's new skipper - something Roberts admitted he was very happy about.

“I think he will be good mate, I’m really happy for him," he told Sporting News.

"We played juniors and that together with La Perouse when we were younger, and played Under 20s together growing up here at Souths.

"It’s good to see him get the captaincy and it’s even better as a Souths junior to see him get the gig. It's pretty special."

The Rabbitohs will travel to Mudgee this weekend for the Charity Shield against the Dragons, before starting their NRL campaign against Cronulla.