It has the portents of the immovable object up against the irresistible force – but Newcastle players deny new coach Wayne Bennett is trying to turn the Knights into a new version of round-one foes St George Illawarra.

In a blockbuster opening to the 2012 NRL season at Hunter Stadium on Thursday night, Bennett will pit his Knights against a Dragons side he developed into the most miserly in the competition.

With Bennett protege Steve Price in charge of the Dragons, little change is expected in the red and white gameplan – with defence again the side’s calling card.

But Knights prop Adam Cuthbertson – who spent last season at the Dragons – denies Bennett is attempting to create a replica in Newcastle, despite the fact the Knights have a distinctive red and white feel to them with six former Dragons in their round-one line-up.

“There will probably be some similarities in the game, but the Knights are a totally different team to the Dragons,” Cuthbertson said.

“We’re just going to worry about the Knights and how we are playing.

“He’s just very good at getting the best out of blokes.

“He finds a way to bring out the qualities and abilities out of each individual, and I think that is what he has brought to the club.”

The Dragons know only too well what Bennett brings – the master coach having helped a club renowned for underachieving end a 31-year premiership drought in 2010.

Throughout his three-year stay at the Dragons, players spoke of the aura that surrounded a man with a record seven premierships to his name, but skipper Ben Hornby denied his presence would be a factor on Thursday night.

“I don’t think he’s playing, is he?” Hornby quipped.

“We’re just trying to focus on what we need to do and not focus on what Wayne’s going to be doing.

“I think he’ll be concentrating on his side, he’ll be telling them to go out there and defend well and control the ball which is what we’ll be telling our boys as well so it should be a tight match.”

Throw in the drenching that Hunter Stadium has been receiving and points will no doubt be at a premium.

It’ll make the match-up in the middle of the ruck even more intriguing – ex-Dragons Cuthbertson and Neville Costigan going up against former team-mates Michael Weyman and Trent Merrin.

“We’ll keep it (the banter) for after the game,” Cuthbertson said.

“They’ve got some quality front-rowers, so it’s probably going to be a bit of a slog out there.”

If the Knights can find some dry ground, they will rely heavily on another ex-Dragon in Darius Boyd to conjure up some tries.

The Dragons are fearing a dose of their own medicine – with Boyd’s incision down the left-edge attack a key to St George Illawarra’s success during his stay there.

“I think he’ll play pretty similar to what he did down here – that’s Darius’s signature move,” said Dragons centre Matt Cooper, another member of that much-vaunted attack.

“We scored a lot of tries from it when he was here so it would be stupid to change that for him.

“It’s just our job now to try and stop it – it’s a pretty hard play to stop when you execute it right.”