RUGBY LEAGUE
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Dragons super-sub Jack de Belin saw enough in his side's revival under then interim coach Paul McGregor last year to be wary of a wounded Knights outfit on Sunday.
Sole competition leaders after four rounds, the Knights have lost 12 of their past 14 games to slip to 14th spot on the ladder.
Last week's 52-6 flogging at the hands of South Sydney proved the final straw for the club's board who on Monday sacked coach Rick Stone and installed club great Danny Buderus as interim coach for the remainder of the season.
It's come 10 weeks later but the scenario is near identical to that experienced by the Dragons last season with the sacking of Steve Price and the appointment of the club's inaugural skipper Paul McGregor to an interim role.
The Dragons lost their first match under McGregor but went on to win seven of their remaining 14 games.
It wasn't enough to reach the finals but it was enough to earn McGregor the full-time gig.
Chief executive Matt Gidley wasn't shy on Monday, saying the Knights players had to shoulder some of the blame for Stone's demise and said the entire playing roster was on notice over the final rounds of the season.
Having watched his own side's resurgence under an interim coach, de Belin said the Dragons are expecting the Knights to respond to edict on Sunday.
"It's hard to describe what that situation is like," de Belin said.
"There's a lot of sadness because you have a relationship with your [sacked] coach. But at the same time there's a lot of excitement because the new coach brings a lot of new ideas, new philosophies and kind of a new culture to the club. That gets everyone excited and brings a new energy.
"I remember when Mary first took over it lifted us massively and got us playing some good footy and that's exactly what could happen for Newcastle.
"You should never write-off a team with a new coach because even though there's a bit of turmoil they're going to be trying to play their best and play for their contracts because everything's up in the air.
"With all the drama that's gone on there they're definitely going to want to come out and make a statement for their new coach."
The Dragons need to make a statement of their own having slumped to seven straight losses to tumble out of the top eight.
With Sunday's clash to be followed by tough away trips to New Zealand and Brisbane, de Belin said they can't afford an eighth-straight defeat.
"It's pretty much do or die for us now and we can't afford to let these games slip away," de Belin said.
"When we were winning all those games things wouldn't go our way and we'd just get on with it and react.
"Now you can see we've lost our way a little bit.
"It's funny how when you're winning you're winning and when you're losing you're losing and it becomes a habit and a bit of a culture.
"We've just got to get that winning culture back."
