Alvaro just 'chugging' along in new-look Dragons engine room

As revealed several years back, Griffin's 'Hook' nickname is merely an abbreviation of the hooker position he played in his youth.

Alvaro has also worn the name 'Chugger' since his junior days in Mittagong. One might anticipate some sort of yard glass yarn but, like Hook, its origins are far tamer.

"It's not a very good story," Alvaro said.

"My uncle had that nickname when I was a little kid and I loved him. In my first footy team there were two Dans' so I just said 'call me Chugger' and it really stuck.

"It's the worst story and I've disappointed a lot of people with it. I reckon he's got [a yard glass story], but I definitely don't."

The story may be a let down, but the 27-year-old's performances since joining the club have not been disappointing. A largely unheralded pick-up for the club, Alvaro had 16 carries for 127 metres in 49 minutes against the Cowboys last week.

It's a strong start to a two-year deal that may not have come about without a six-game on-loan stint with the Warriors through a COVID-affected 2020 campaign.

Having been unable to crack an Eels pack featuring the likes of Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Junior Paulo, Kane Evans and Nathan Brown, managed just one game in the opening 11 rounds. In what was a well-publicised hard slog for the Warriors, Alvaro was welcomed with open arms in answering an SOS mid-season.

"It definitely was frustrating. It was probably the hardest period of my career," Alvaro said.

"I was lucky enough to get an opportunity at the back end with the Warriors and I'm so grateful it came up because there were a lot of boys stuck in the same position as me that didn't get to play any footy.

"They were a really good group, they'd been through he wringer by the time I got there so they'd really galvanised. They brought me in and it was some of the funnest footy I've had in my career. I really, really enjoyed it."

"I was just really grateful it's turned out the way it has, so to get the opportunity this year I want to soak up every minute of it."

Dragons hooker Andrew McCullough also found some footy through an on-loan stint with the Knights last year, an arrangement made famous by Melbourne hooker Harry Grant's breakout season with the Tigers.

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Alvaro admits the Dragons opportunity may not have come up without his own short-term stint with the Warriors and backed the idea moving forward.

"I think it's a great idea. It's something that can be tweaked and worked on," he said.

"I'm sure there's a lot of boys across all the clubs in that position not getting regular minutes when they probably deserve to and for whatever reason they're not."

With rule changes keeping the ball in play longer, he's part of an important bench trio with Trent Merrin and Poasa Faamausili that played a key hand in sweltering conditions in Townsville last week.

"The coach has made it pretty clear that's our role for the team," Alvaro said.

"We try to get together and work together as a little unit, come on and add energy and try and lift the team. With the ball in play [more] the fatigue's a lot higher so things tend to loosen up through the middle.

"You can come in with a lot of energy and if you're working together you can find plenty of joy. Hopefully we can keep doing that."