The Dragons have warded off interest from the cashed-up Wests Tigers and former employers the Melbourne Storm to re-sign captain Gareth Widdop on a four-year deal.
One of the NRL's biggest free agents will stay with the table-topping Dragons until the end of 2021 after St George Illawarra confirmed Widdop's signing on Saturday.
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Brisbane pip souths through Mildford field goal
Anthony Milford's late drop goal enough for the Broncos to edge past the Rabbitohs.
It came after weeks of wrangling and fears the rejuvenated Red V could lose both their influential skipper and Josh Dugan, who remains off contract, in a frenzied player market.
But just three days out from the traditional Anzac Day blockbuster against the Roosters, Widdop inked a new deal which had been significantly improved on Thursday from the previous one tabled to his management.
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"The Dragons have grown more and more since I've arrived," Widdop said. "There's a good environment here and it's a good place to be so I wanted to play my part in that.
"At this stage of my career it certainly was a big decision for my family. I have three young kids, I'm very settled here in Wollongong and I'm enjoying my time here. So while it was a big decision, I'm happy to be staying."
It will now intensify the Dragons' efforts to keep Dugan, who has been the subject of much debate about where he should play should he remain in Wollongong beyond this year.
Dragons recruitment chief Ian Millward will now put most of his efforts into securing Dugan, who is in line to return from a hamstring injury against the Roosters.
But he couldn't hide his delight in having Widdop and Broncos halfback Ben Hunt paired at the Dragons' scrumbase from 2018 onwards.
"We have shown a lot of confidence in Gareth as our long-term leader by offering him a four-year contract," Millward said.
"We were very conscious of creating stability and consistency in our team and we feel we have achieved that with the re-signing of Gareth. Gareth's our leader and obviously plays in a vital position so we're over the moon that he has re-signed."
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