FIT-AGAIN prop Sam Hobbs is desperate to show Bernard Jackman that he is worthy of a contract extension to be part of the boss’ Dragons plans.

The loosehead made his return from a summer operation on his right kneecap in the Anglo-Welsh Cup clash against the Scarlets last Friday, playing the second half as the Rodney Parade region bossed the forward exchanges to turn a 15-3 deficit into a 23-18 win.

Hobbs moved to the Dragons from Cardiff Blues in the summer of 2016 and enjoyed a fine first season in Newport, making 27 appearances from a possible 32 games.

He wore 1 on his back 20 times but has a new rival now that influential South African Brok Harris has moved across the scrum to allow the development of Wales tighthead Leon Brown.

Phil Price, whose tally of 159 appearances is the sixth highest in the Dragons’ history, has had just two outings as a replacement this season and is out of contract this summer.

Thomas Davies and Luke Garrett have been given fleeting chances to catch the eye while Wales Under-18s international Josh Reynolds started last weekend.

Hobbs knows that he needs to produce the goods when opportunity knocks if he is to be offered fresh terms.

“It’s well documented that Bernard is looking at the squad and working out who to bring in and who to keep,” said the 29-year-old.

“I want to hang around because this place is only going in the right direction. It would be a shame to leave now so I will leave no stone unturned and will keep working hard.

“One of the main reasons I wanted to come to the Dragons was to play and it was a tough season with results and issues off the field, but this year it’s obvious to see that everything is starting to change and that the future is going to be bright.”

After being a regular in his first season in the east, Hobbs is pleased to be back in the selection debate for Friday’s trip to Leinster in the Guinness PRO14.

“It was good to finally be out there against the Scarlets, it’s been a long old slog of a rehab. It’s been hard work with the medical staff and the conditioners, they’ve worked their socks off with me,” he said.

“There’s still more to come in getting match fitness and I’m looking forward to that.

“It’s no secret that Bernard has come in and changed a lot of our attacking stuff while Hendre has brought in new defensive systems.

“It has been hard and you try to learn as much as you can in a notebook in a classroom but it’s all about getting on the training field.

“I didn’t get everything right against the Scarlets but with more training sessions and games I will hopefully start to iron out those mistakes.”

Harris is back to being a tighthead while Brown is on Wales duty for the autumn internationals, improving Hobbs’ chances of being in the 23 for the Royal Dublin Society.

“There’s probably no tougher place to play away in our league but we’ve just got to go there with a nothing-to-lose attitude,” he said.

“We’ve got a young squad that’s got plenty of enthusiasm and we’ve got to show the work rate that we’ve been priding ourselves on this season. Let’s go out there and have a crack.”