Cronulla fans no doubt enjoyed young gun Jack Bird's man-of-the-match effort against the Roosters last week but the Dragons faithful could have been forgiven for averting their eyes.

The Berkeley product joined the Dragons' local rivals this year after a standout junior career in Wollongong and showed his worth in scoring two tries to spur the Sharks to an upset victory - their first for the year - over the Roosters.

His performance and that of fellow rising star Valentine Holmes at the back was enough to make Ben Barba, who returned from suspension on Friday, the highest paid bench player in the competition.

While it's undoubtedly tough to watch for Dragons fans, their own rising star Euan Aitken is enjoying every second.

The pair are good mates, having come through the junior reps together and last year played under 20s State of Origin and Junior Kangaroos together.

Aitken said it was only a matter of time before Bird left his mark on the NRL.

"It's probably about time he played five-eighth," Aitken said.

"As a junior he played a fair bit there. He likes to have the ball in his hands and to really control the game, so it's good he's been put in a position where he can play some footy.

"That's always been Birdy. He's a pretty confident sort of player and when things are going his way he can really do anything he wants.

"Playing together last year on the right edge I think we both thought we'd get there eventually and I think we're both where we're supposed to be at the moment."

Bird's quick elevation to the NRL will probably continue to sting the Red V faithful for a while but the emergence of Aitken - the club's 2014 NYC player of the year - has already gone some way to soothing the pain.

The 19-year-old, who scored 16 tries in 19 games in the NYC last year, is still waiting for his first four-pointer in first grade but is yet to taste defeat in the NRL.

He's showed his value at the other end, averaging 17 carries and 167 metres a game in his three starts. He's broken 22 tackles along the way at a rate of seven per game.

"I always want to be involved," Aitken said.