The fact his first game at the helm will come against his junior club, and the one he saluted with in 2015, is one of the great ironies that rugby league has a habit of tossing up, but appointing the former Paul McGregor Medalist was a no-brainer for coach Nathan Fien.

“Fieny approached me and asked me what I thought of it and I wasn’t sure if I was made for captaining a side but he has a lot of trust in me so I took it on board,” Phillips said.

“I usually try to run the ship from the backseat anyway, but now I’ve actually got the captaincy so I’ve got pull my head in a bit and become a bit more of a leader. It’s a massive privilege to captain Collegians so I’m really looking forward to it.”

The Dogs have added another Helensburgh premiership-winner in five-eighth Jarrod Boyle who will form a formidable halves pairing with former Roosters and Cowboys half Ben Jones, who missed the entire 2016 season with torn pectoral muscle. 

“It was unfortunate for Benny that he tore his pec in our first trial last year so to have him this year is going be great for us to. He’s looked great at training so he’s ready to go,” Phillips said.

“Jarrod Boyle’s come down as well. He’s a great player and he’ll lead us around outstanding with Benny in the halves. It’s just another attacking weapon for us so it’s a massive positive.

“We’ve added a couple of new big boys that will put a bit of punch in our forward pack as well. Last year I found myself playing a bit of front-row which I was happy to do but having a few bigger frames will definitely help us out through the year.”

One of those hefty frames belongs to former Cowboys and Gold Coast NYC standout Ben Mathiou, the son of former Cowboys forward Jamie Mathiou, who’s linked with the Dogs on this season.

“If I can stay on the paddock I’m hoping I can do a job for the boys,” Mathiou said.

“I’ve had a bad run with injuries and I nearly gave up on the game. After my fourth shoulder reconstruction it was in the back of my mind but I thought I’d give it one last crack and try to have some fun playing footy again.

“I’ve really enjoyed it so far and I’m really happy I made that decision. Fienzy’s prepared us really well. He’s a great coach and an even better bloke.”

Collies’ off-season recruitment drive has seen many pencil them in as the biggest threat to Dapto’s title defence in 2017 and Mathiou said Fien has set a high bar. 

“Fienzy’s the type of coach who doesn’t really worry about the other sides too much,” Mathiou

“He’s more worried about getting us prepared as a team because he knows on our day we can beat anyone.

“We’ve trained so hard and we’ve got such a good squad and when Fienzy’s running us the way he has been I think we’ll be a real contender.”