St George Illawarra admit facing a Penrith outfit without Michael Jennings is a far less daunting than one containing the axed NRL star.
The out-of-form Jennings will turn out for NSW Cup side Windsor Wolves on Saturday, with Brad Tighe taking his place in the Panthers side to face the Dragons on Monday night.
“Obviously he’s a fair attacking force to not have out there, he’s hard to defend,” Dragons winger Jason Nightingale said.
“I’m kind of relieved that I won’t have to.
“Defensively he keeps you on your toes, but I’m sure whoever they put in there is more than capable.”
One man who knows all about Jennings’ ability is Dragons fullback Brett Morris, who has played alongside the Panthers flyer for both NSW and Australia.
The two could well be teammates again when the NSW side for the State of Origin opener is named on Sunday – Morris citing personal experience as proof a return to the top may not be far away.
In 2009 Morris was dumped from the top grade for the start of the NRL season by then Dragons coach Wayne Bennett, only to be in the Australian side by the end of the year.
“I don’t know what goes on up there at Penrith, I can only say he’s a great player and he’ll only bounce back bigger and stronger from it,” Morris said.
“I’ve had a stint in reserve grade and it helped me and my brother’s (Canterbury centre Josh Morris) done the same thing.
“It might just be the little kick that he needs to get going.”
Dragons five-eighth Jamie Soward was a notable absentee from Friday’s training run in Wollongong, though club officials insist they are just monitoring his workload.