Cameron McInnes is ready to step up and shoulder more responsibility at St George Illawarra this week with the Dragons face Melbourne without their five State of Origin players.
Thursday night's clash should be one of the headline acts of the season but a combined 10 players will be unavailable due to Origin.
The Dragons still have English stars Gareth Widdop and James Graham at their disposal but McInnes' clash with Cameron Smith shapes as the highest profile of the night.
They looked like possible Origin rivals earlier this year before the Dragons' rake was overlooked for Damien Cook and the Melbourne No.9 retired from representative football.
But McInnes said he'd front this challenge no different to every other one he'd taken on in 2018.
"There will be a bit of responsibility on me just in terms of having a bit more experience than the other boys but I it's not a need for me to go out of the ordinary," he said.
"I want to run as much as I can every week. But I know my cues of when to run and things like that.
"If there are two markers there and it's a slow play-the-ball - which Melbourne are good at - then I'm not just going to run just for the sake of it.
"It's important to make sure I'm playing at my best I bring every week, rather than looking at it as an opportunity for me to step out and try to do everything ...
"That'll help the others play their best game."
The Dragons have been preparing for this game all season with coach Paul McGregor having rotated through fringe players on the bench with the representative period in mind.
Jacob Host, Blake Lawrie, Luciano Leilua and Hame Sele have all spent time coming off the bench this year and will likely feature in the pack, while Jai Field and Reece Robson have first grade experience and play as utilities.
Meanwhile, halfback Darren Nicholls could be in line for an NRL debut in the halves after guiding the majority of those players to third for Illawarra in reserve grade this year.
"Obviously Origin is the focal point at this time of year but for us playing here at the Dragons it's not," McInnes said.
We've got a big job to do and we're excited about that.
"We just want to keep winning and we want to win every game. We want to stay in that top four.
"These are the games that really show the character of your squad."
