That's how the Dragons lined up for Monday's ball work session, with Wiliame slotting in at left centre outside Corey Norman with Tim Lafai switching to the right.

It left Euan Aitken, who missed the bulk of training last week due to illness, running opposite Wiliame in the reserve grade line-up. McGregor won't officially name his team until Tuesday but Aitken seemed resigned to missing out.

"I've been dropped before, it is what it is, you've just got to let your footy do the talking if it comes to that," Aitken said.

"I'm not sure if I'm playing, we'll see what happens [on Tuesday], but it's first grade footy, there's always going to competition around spots.

"You welcome challenge, it's the competitive nature of the sport, we're all competitive people and everyone's gunning for the same thing.

"You've just got to take it as it is and rely on your footy to do the talking. I'm confident in my own ability and I always will be, I've just got to show a bit more and I know it's in me to do that."

Should he get the nod, Wiliame will end a 1288-day NRL drought having last played for Manly in round 26, 2016. It would also reward some impressive trial form from the 27-year-old.

WIliame will be one of a number of new faces, with Issac Luke to start at hooker and recent acquisition Billy Brittain in line to make his third NRL appearance in the absence of injured captain Cameron McInnes.

It also shapes as the return to the red v for Trent Merrin, whom last played for his junior club in a golden-point finals loss to the Bulldogs in 2015.

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Star prop Paul Vaughan said he's looking forward to seeing all of them go around on Sunday in what will be the first time the joint-venture has opened it's season in Wollongong.

"[Wiliame] looks really good," Vaughan said.

"In the trials he broke the line a couple of times and he's got a nice little off-load, he's a big strong boy, so that's going to be exciting to see in the centres there.

"We've got Mez coming back who has a wealth of experience. He's good to have around because he's played a lot of big rep games, he's won a grand final.

"He's just going to add to the experience of the team and Issac Luke's is a great buy and he's a great in for us."

Vaughan's confident Luke and Brittain can help facilitate the power game essential for success, with McInnes still at least a month away from returning from the MCL injury suffered at the NRL Nines.

"We'll obviously miss the skipper, he's inspirational in everything that he does and his game's very important to the team," Vaughan said.

"He's doing everything he can to get back early but Bully [Luke] was the best nine in the comp for a long time there so he knows what he's doing.

"He brings the forwards onto the ball really well and I'm excited to be playing with him because he's such a great player. We've got Billy on the bench to and he kind of reminds me of Cooky [Damien Cook].

"He's very fast out of dummy-half and he gets the boys onto the ball. He's got a good story to so it's going to be good seeing him get the experience this weekend."