Marketo is the first to admit that his attitude was not what it needed to be when he first came into first grade in 2010 as an NYC star, but has been a model professional in the club’s past two campaigns since being thrown a lifeline by the club prior to the 2015 season.

Marketo has proven a handy Mr Fixit for coach Paul McGregor given his versatility and he may well be called on to fill that role again come round one after fellow utility Will Matthews dislocated his hip in Sunday’s Charity Shield loss.

The 28-year-old said he’s happy to play the role again if it means a regular spot in a more versatile Dragons pack this season.

“I’m hating the contact sessions at training at the the moment,” Marketo said.

“Big Mose [Masoe’s] come back, Russell [Packer’s] there, Leeson [Ah Mau], Paul Vaughan, they’re not the funnest guys to tackle but luckily they’re on our side. It’s a good mixture at the moment of a bit of skill and some very powerful guys.

“As I’ve always said, for me, it’s about where I’m the best for for the team. If that means coming off the bench in a utility role if someone goes down, whatever needs to be done for the team.

“I’ve just got to keep concentrating at training, keep training hard and hopefully Mary puts me in the team [for round one] and we can go from there.”