“It’s always unfair. It’s the way it is,” he said. “Kyle’s great, he’s got a great head on him. He just focuses on him and us as a team. Atko’s going to help him and he’s going to help Atko – they’re our halves, we’re going to back them until they’re not.

“We saw what Kyle did for us last year. He was great for us last year. He was one of the most consistent in our team all year, and he played every minute of every game. If you’re doing that in the NRL you’ve obviously got something.”

Much is also being thrust on the shoulders of Atkinson, who was signed from Cronulla on a three-year contract.

The 25-year-old was stuck behind Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall at the Sharks and is straight into the hot seat at St George Illawarra.

“He wants a chance to prove himself as a [number] seven and since the day he turned up he’s been loud, he’s been talking,” Gutherson said.

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“He’s learned off a couple of great players in ‘Tricky’ [Trindall] and Nicho at the Sharks, so he’s got a lot of experience there, and as I said, he’s coming here for an opportunity to lead a team.

“He’s been given the seven and the keys to our team and now it’s up to him to make sure he does everything right.”

After a 15th-placed finish last season, the joint venture club are naturally underdogs against the Bulldogs, who are fifth favourites to win the competition.

Gutherson said Canterbury deserved to have the attention on them but admitted the Dragons also have a lot riding on the early stages of the season despite not being considered finals contenders by many.

“We’ve got heaps to lose,” he said. “We know the team we want to be and we’ve got standards in our team that we want to live up to.

“If you’re not doing that, there’s, there’s pressure. If you’re not doing that, you’re not going to be in the [squad of] 17 or 19 this year, and it starts Saturday. We’re here to win.”