Departing St George Illawarra five-eighth Jamie Soward has opened up about his move to Penrith, claiming he was so unwanted by the Dragons that he had little option but to take the Panthers’ offer.

Excited about the prospect of joining the Panthers on a four-year deal starting in 2014, it was obvious the premiership-winning pivot was still hurting from being snubbed by the Dragons.

“That will probably all come out at the end of the year how it all went down,” Soward said ahead of Monday night’s clash against Manly.

“I’ll get four years at Penrith. I get to work with Gus Gould and Ivan Cleary and their youngsters out there.

“That’s security for me and I wasn’t going to get that here.

“At the end of the day you’ve got to go where you’re wanted. You’ve got to go where you can contribute something.”

Attempts by Soward’s management to negotiate a new deal with the Dragons earlier this year failed to even get off the ground.

His manager Sam Ayoub was told by Dragons officials on a number of occasions they were interested in Soward, but when he got wind that the club was chasing rival five-eighths, Ayoub had to act in his client’s best interests.

He canvassed rival NRL clubs to see if any were keen on the former NSW Origin playmaker.

When he told the club of the Panthers offer, the Dragons said they could not move on contract negotiations until the coaching situation has been resolved.

Yet just days after Soward announced his departure, the Dragons revealed the signing of Melbourne five-eighth Gareth Widdop.

While the bitterness is evident, Soward said he is determined to move on from the saga and end his time at the Dragons on a bright note.

“Last week was pretty draining. (To) tell a lot of people that I care about that I was moving on,” Soward said.

“That wasn’t easy and it proved pretty tiring.

“I’m happy I got that out of the way now and I can have a good long rest this week. Make sure I train well and get everything ready for Monday night.”