St George Illawarra Dragons fullback Clinton Gutherson has lifted the lid on the signing of Scott Drinkwater long-term at the club.

Gutherson has made it no secret that he is happy to play anywhere in the side, given the two stars compete at the same position.

It is a noble attitude from Gutherson to offer up his preferred fullback role to accommodate Drinkwater, therefore putting the club first to strengthen its attacking flair.

The veteran skipper admitted it was an excellent signing for the club and will no-doubt add plenty of value to the side from 2027 onwards.

"Great signing, quality player has been for a long time and just sent him a text before he had signed to try to get him across," Gutherson said to the media on Wednesday.

"So who knows if I get the tap on the shoulder next? But who knows, mate, I want to make this team stronger, and he definitely does that."

Gutherson, who has played at NRL level at centre, five-eighth and wing, has been rumoured for a move into the lock or centre position - a role it has been suggested he will play in on Saturday against the Newcastle Knights..

It would free up Drinkwater to take the fullback role while also giving the side expert direction and a ball-playing option in the middle through Gutherson.

"We're lucky enough to wear the jerseys each week and look, wherever I play, I've always said it, it doesn't bother me. So wherever he (coach Young) needs me, wherever he wants me to play, and this week, it is in the one. So I'll do my job there," he said.

The Dragons currently sit winless after eight appearances this year, and after a change in coaching regime, Gutherson has seen enough positives to know that the club can get their season back on track.

"It's rugby league. It moves quick and you've got to be able to adapt and, as I said, we've had a few weeks now under 'Deano' and we know exactly the team and the players we need to be to be picked in his team week to week and that's what we need to do," Gutherson added.

"That's how we need to play. That's how we need to train, and that's why we need to start winning. So we're looking forward to going out there on Saturday and showing that, but it's about us turning up and making sure we do all right."

Since Dean Young has taken over from Shane Flanagan as the interim head coach, the former Red V star has made some changes to the way the side prepares for its matches.

It involves having a set nine-to-five roster at training where the players have a fixed-time schedule spent to work on their game.

The added feature is hoping to yield greater training results and build combinations on the paddock. 

"They're (coaching staff) just trying new things and the way they want to do it, and we're here for a set time and I love it," he added.

"The more time you're at training, the more time you get to hang out and build those relationships and work on our footy, and that's what we get paid to do, and that's what we need to do."

Gutherson will return from a hamstring injury which kept him out for four weeks of the competition, adding a timely leadership bonus for the Red V as they look to host the Newcastle Knights on Saturday.

"Yep, I feel great. I was pushing for the Anzac Day test, but they obviously held me back there and gave me the extra week with the bye. So I'm good to go, good as gold," Gutherson said ahead of his return.

The ultimate momentum swing for the Dragons' season has been established, outlined as the ability to play with confidence, building it at training and transitioning that tenacity onto the playing field.

"It's just about confidence, trying to build it with confidence, and make sure they know that they can go out there and play their game, and they're obviously playing NRL for a reason, they can play," he said.

"It's about getting that out of them and being confident enough to be able to play in the NRL, do it for 80 minutes in back-to-back weeks. But we've had a couple of weeks here to really hone in on what we want to do, the team we want to look like, and we had another good day out there today. So we're looking forward to the weekend."

The club will be celebrating Grassroots Round in Wollongong on Saturday to honour the powerful work done in the community while also celebrating the strong junior pathways at the Dragons.

It will see talented local junior Dylan Egan make his return from an ACL injury sustained a year ago at Magic Round.