Rueful Blacklock returns
Tryscoring phenomenon Nathan Blacklock apologetically announced his return to the National Rugby League after his brief and unhappy flirtation with rugby union.
Less than a year after walking out on St George Illawarra, Blacklock finalised a bargain-basement deal with the Dragons for the remainder of this season.
But the 27-year-old wants to stay much beyond that after revealing he wanted out of his NSW Waratahs contract "about a month" after joining the Super 12 franchise.
"I knew it wasn't for me," Blacklock said.
"Union's not for me, which is unfortunate. It is a good game but I'm a league player.
"I've been a league player since day one, since I was a kid. This has got me to where it is. Mate, I'm just a leaguey, sorry."
Blacklock said he "wasn't thinking" when he left the Dragons.
At the time, the gifted winger claimed he had lost the will to play after struggling to break into the representative arena and wrestling for months with the death of his father and the breakdown of a long-term relationship.
"I guess things weren't going right and I shouldn't have really turned my back and run away from those things," he said.
Blacklock's abandonment of his lucrative three-year contract with the Dragons just half a season into it last year and his premature departure from the Waratahs has cost him more than $500,000.
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