While he's as under pressure as any coach in the NRL right now, Anthony Griffin has appointed new right-hand men to transform the Dragons as the club aims for a return to finals footy in 2023.
Despite having a roster full of young talent as well as stars like Ben Hunt, who nearly claimed the 2022 Dally M Medal, Griffin has steered the Red V to 11th and 10th on the ladder in his first two seasons at the helm, slowly turning up the pressure on himself.
It's been a comedy of errors for the club during his tenure, the infamous 'BBQgate' resulting in seven-straight losses for the club while both George Burgess and Jack Gosiewski took parting shots at the head coach after departing the joint venture.
However, it's his right-hand men that have the place looking like they're on the rise, both fresh on the job after club powerbrokers sacked last season's assistant coaches in Peter Gentle and Mathew Head.
They've been replaced by Ben Woolf and Ryan Carr, the latter assistant-coaching Parramatta in the Grand Final.
Veteran prop Aaron Woods has already felt the effects that the incoming assistants have had on the squad.
“Every coach brings a different idea, last year we had Peter Gentle and Mathew Head and they were outstanding,” Woods told Fox Sports.
“They had them for a couple of years prior, I came in just last year and got some really good ideas from them, but when you get new people in it is just a fresh face.
“It is a change, they bring their ideas, work with Hook and it is just a breath of fresh air.
“The boys have been told one thing for a couple of years now and to get some different ideas from different coaches it does really help.”
Zac Lomax echoed the same sentiments about the incoming coaches.
“It has been a bit of a fresh start in regards to having a few new staff in, our new assistants have been outstanding, they have been clear in regards to what they want,” Lomax told Fox Sports.
“They've come in and made a real good point to the playing group, I feel that's what we needed, we need a lot of direction.”
Aware of the outside noise, Woods not only wants to silence the doubters, but earn each win after it was announced the Dragons would have a bye in Round 1.
“We win the first couple of games, it goes away, a lot of people tipped the Cowboys to come last last year, look what they did,” Woods told Fox Sports.
“They lost their first game against the Bulldogs then bang, won six or seven in a row.
“For us we have the bye round one, a lot of people say ‘hey, at least you get two points', but we want to play, we want to earn those two points.
“We just need to go out there and be really consistent from Round 2 and get out s**t in order.”
The club won't feature until the 16th NRL game of the season, the last match of Round 2, and will be desperate to springboard those bye points into a strong start to 2023.