After winning a hotly-contested off-season battle for the No. 1 jumper, the 19-year-old was dropped just three games into the season.

Instead of riding the wave with the rookie, coach Anthony Griffin turned to the steady hand of veteran Moses Mbye for the round-four clash with Parramatta.

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The utility has held the position since, to mixed results.

Saturday, however, could present an opportunity for Sloan to make a statement at a sold out Suncorp Stadium.

Hooker Andrew McCullough has been ruled out of the clash with the Titans due to a thumb injury.

At this stage, Jayden Sullivan has been promoted to the starting hooker role, with Sloan 18^th man.

Mbye remains at fullback for now, but a move to hooker remains on the cards.

Such a shift would see Sloan step into fullback.

Mbye, however, has declared his intention to stay in the No.1 jumper for the remainder of the season.

"Why not?" Mbye told the Mercury, when asked if he wanted to make the position his own. "If the opportunity is there, I've got to take it.

"I'm certainly planning to play as good a footy as I can, wherever I'm picked.

"I think I've improved at fullback. Initially I thought I was just filling a gap there but I've managed to play out the past five to six weeks there.

"It's been good improvement for myself, I'm excited about it, about improving and building on my performances."

The Dragons are determined to return to form at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday in what will be Josh McGuire's 250^th NRL game.

The side struggled last week, falling to the Storm 42-6.

For Mbye, it's up to the players in key positions to step up to lead the team to victory this weekend.

"I thought our spine in particular lacked dominance," Mbye said. "We didn't put our fingerprint on the game.

"We need to complement each other, all of us in the spine. We get to have quite an influence in the game, especially the outcome so we need to execute better."

While the Storm are the competition's elite, Gold Coast are among the sides the Dragons must defeat if they want to make the eight.

The Titans have struggled for consistency this season and currently sit 14^th with two wins from nine matches.

The Dragons are 11^th, two points outside the eight.

While disappointed with last week's performance, St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin is confident his side can rebound.

"I think it'll be a quick fix," Griffin said. "The Storm are a fantastic side.

"That intercept try just before halftime blew the game open, probably emotionally more than anything for our guys. It's something we've got to fix, but our last month has been pretty good. We learnt a lot last week."

The Dragons coach also confirmed utility Jack Bird will remain with the club for a further three seasons.

The local junior has found form since returning home last year and Griffin expects his best is still to come.

"He had two or three years out of the game before we got him last year," he said.

"He's past those injuries and had his first full off-season in about four years. This contract will take him to age 30, and the next few years will be his best years for sure."

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