AT this point of his career, Dragons veteran Trent Merrin is long past caring what number he wears on his back each week. Ditto what his numbers look like at the end of 80 minutes.
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The 31-year-old is more than happy looking to bring impact and "a point of difference" from the bench along with new recruits Poasa Faamausili and Daniel Alvaro.
It's not a role he's played for the bulk of his career, but he's he's not hung up on starting positions in his second coming with his junior club.
"That's dead and gone now. We've got some great talent here and my role is to help the younger big boys come through," Merrin said.
"They're the future of the club and if the best I can do for them is coming off the bench, I'll be doing that. I've been around the game a long time now, I know what we're going to deal with throughout the game and the challenges that are going to be thrown at us.
"It's just about keeping a cool head, staying composed when the game gets a bit frantic, sticking to the system and knowing what our strengths are. They're the sort of things Hook [Anthony Griffin] is looking for from me and obviously playing the role I play with my individual efforts.
"Whatever role is put on me, whether it's starting or from the bench, that's what I'll be delivering."
It had copped some criticism before a ball was kicked in the season proper, but Merrin feels the pack passed a big test against the Sharks on Sunday.
Read More: Lawrie vows Dragons pack won't be bullied
Paul Vaughan led the way with a whopping 208 metres from 17 carries, but Merrin said his side got contributions from all the middles despite not getting the win.
"They tested us all night, it was wet and we knew it would be a grind and a big test for the middles," Merrin said.
"We held our own and it's something we can definitely get confidence out of. We're still building together as a pack knowing each others' games.
"You look across the whole pack, everyone brings different individual talents. I know what my strengths are, Poa's strengths are different, Chugger's [Alvaro] strengths are different and the starting pack's strengths are different.
"They play their style of footy to get us going and we come on and open up a bit. I think that's our point of difference."
Team-wise, Merrin insists confidence hasn't taken too sharp a dive heading into Saturday's clash with the Cowboys in Townsville
"The result wasn't what we were looking for but I'd say there were plenty of good signs in that [Sharks] game," Merrin said.
"There were a few tries off kicks and uncontrollables but I honestly think we were the better team. There were just periods of the game that got away from us that we could've controlled and I think we beat ourselves.
"That's our main focus this week, we're not even going to look at the Cowboys just yet. Our main focus is controlling what we can control, building on what we did [on Sunday] and taking little steps forward.
"We're coming together great as a team and it'll be another good challenge for us this week."
In an ironic twist, the Dragons will come up against their latest recruit Francis Molo on Saturday, with the club announcing the Cowboys wrecking ball will shift to Wollongong in 2022.
The 26-year-old has inked a three-year deal to bolster the Dragons long-term forwards depth after a mass exodus over the off-season.
"Francis is a proven player who displays the exact characteristics you want from a front-rower week-in, week-out," Haran said.
"Francis is coming to the prime of his career considering his age and experience in the NRL. Throughout his time at the Cowboys he has proven his durability in handling the responsibility and role as a first grade footballer.
"There is absolutely no doubt that Francis will add value to our squad and complement our roster for the 2022 season and beyond."
Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
