The other half of the most talked about positional switch in the NRL - Connor Watson - has been among the stars of the Knights pre-season.

And his transition from five-eighth to fullback in a straight swap with Kalyn Ponga could well be the making of him as an NRL star.

After joining the Knights last season in the hope of nailing down a spot in the halves, Watson now says he understands his real strength is his running game rather than his organising skills.

“It’s been a good change for me because I’ve been able to get away from having to organise and control games to just running and putting myself in situations that I’m a lot better at,” he said.

“Obviously, I came up here with the goal of playing five-eighth but I think now, my goal is to play a role in the team winning games and playing top eight footy. If you look at the dynamic of the team, it benefits us for me to be back at fullback.

“Kalyn is probably one of the best ball players there is in the game and the way he can dismantle rivals defences, I just think he is better suited to be there for us. The other thing is fullback’s a position I love anyway. 

“There is more scope to run and it frees me up from having to ball-play and set people up as much. I’m really excited about it to be honest and can’t wait for the footy to kick-off. ”

After recovering from groin surgery late last year, Watson has been one of the standouts during pre-season training over the summer and says he has never felt physically better.

He has put on a couple of kilograms of muscle to weigh 87 kg and like a lot of teammates, is producing personal bests in the gym.

He is bench pressing a whopping 22 kgs more than his previous best and is faster than ever after being clocked at more than 33 km/h at the end of a 30 metre sprint earlier this week. 

Watson says the biggest challenge he faces in the fullback role will be in defence.    

“I think the hardest part for me has been with the defence and getting used to the organisation that goes with it and knowing when and where to jump in the line myself in defence,” he said.

“There is a fair bit to it but I’m getting better and learning more and more every day and getting heaps more comfortable there. 

“Attacks been good, combining with Pearcey [Mitchell Pearce] and Kalyn really well and learning which blokes to support and get around.

“The biggest thing for me I think will be that support role. There is going to be a lot more focus on us playing in the advantage line and supporting our big men more when they take it forward.

“In blokes like Klem [David Klemmer], [James] Gavet, big Herman [Ese’ese] and DSaf [Daniel Saifiti], we have some really big bodies there who can break tackles and get their arms free.

“So the more often we can be presented with those opportunities, the better and I’m one who has to make sure I’m there to capitalise.”.