โItโs always unfair. Itโs the way it is,โ he said. โKyleโs great, heโs got a great head on him. He just focuses on him and us as a team. Atkoโs going to help him and heโs going to help Atko – theyโre our halves, weโre going to back them until theyโre not.
โWe 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 youโre doing that in the NRL youโve obviously got something.โ
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.
โHe wants a chance to prove himself as a [number] seven and since the day he turned up heโs been loud, heโs been talking,โ Gutherson said.
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โHeโs learned off a couple of great players in โTrickyโ [Trindall] and Nicho at the Sharks, so heโs got a lot of experience there, and as I said, heโs coming here for an opportunity to lead a team.
โHeโs been given the seven and the keys to our team and now itโs up to him to make sure he does everything right.โ
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.
โWeโve got heaps to lose,โ he said. โWe know the team we want to be and weโve got standards in our team that we want to live up to.
โIf youโre not doing that, thereโs, thereโs pressure. If youโre not doing that, youโre not going to be in the [squad of] 17 or 19 this year, and it starts Saturday. Weโre here to win.โ
