An edge back-rower for the bulk of his career, Fuimaono has been pitched into the middle of the park by Anthony Griffin this season. It's a move he's embracing, and one that's caught the attention of rival big men.

"I don't mind playing that sort of meathead role," Fuimaono said.

"It's a new role but it comes pretty natural to me. It is still new to me but I'm enjoying the process and I'm grateful that the coach sees there's an avenue there for me. We've got boys in our team that are more than capable of running the ball and being physical but I feel I can bring a physical presence defensively.

"It's a bit harder to do in the back row because you're restricted in where you can position yourself. In the middle you can put yourself in spots to blindside people or use my leg-speed to get someone unexpectedly.

"There's a lot more for me to learn week to week to become a complete player in my new position but I want to make the most of it and make it mine."

It's a mentality shared throughout a Dragons pack that's proven it won't be bullied this season in their last two outings against Newcastle and Parramatta. Fuimaono doesn't try to hide the fact it has a chip on its shoulder.

"On the weekend [against Parramatta], and against Newcastle, we came up against packs that have been spoken about as the best packs in the comp," Fuimaono said.

"I don't see the interviews or read much in the media but the coaches let us know we weren't getting taken seriously. They challenged us to make it personal and get after them and that's how we went about it.

"We obviously weren't as big as the [Eels] but we wanted to out-enthuse them and be physical. We believed they hadn't been tested thus far and if we could do that it might rattle them. I thought our starting pack as a whole did just that."

Read more: Griffin playing the man and not the ball

Having charged into the top four on the back of four straight wins, it's unlikely they can rely on the element of surprise any longer, but back-rower Josh Kerr says it has a way to go to fully earn that respect.

"We've always talked about having a pack mentality but this is the first time we've really done it for a long period of time," Kerr said.

"Hook's old school and wants us to get up there and bash. Everyone was saying Newcastle were going to come in and flog us and we'd [only] done well against a couple of shot teams.

"We ground Newcastle out and straight away it was 'oh they had injuries'. We were supposed to get flogged the other night [against Parramatta]. That's the best feeling. I think we're starting to earn some respect back but it's early in the season and we still have a long way to go."