Drew Hutchison insists he can be the man to unlock Matt Burton at Canterbury, as the Bulldogs recruit prepares to end a career-long wait to be a first-choice NRL halfback.
Nine years after his NRL debut and after bouncing between both sides of the globe, Hutchison will finally start a season as a first-choice playmaker at Canterbury on Saturday against Parramatta.
The challenge awaiting the 28-year-old could not be clearer, with the Bulldogs desperate to shake their long-held tag as one of the NRL's worst attacking sides.
But after shifting for the Sydney Roosters with the hope of becoming a starting half, Hutchison is adamant the time is right for him to pounce on the opportunity.
"I haven't shied away from the fact that's the main reason I came to the club," Hutchison said.
"I feel like it's probably that time in my career where I feel like I've got the tools available to succeed there.
"That's a challenge for me and I'm really looking forward to it.
"To be in a position of putting my best foot forward to play round one is something that I've always been working for this year. I need to be consistent every week."
Hutchison is well aware his success at No.7 for Canterbury will come down to how he can unlock Burton at five-eighth.
The Bulldogs need Burton to be playing the kind of football that made him one of the most attractive youngsters in the competition at Penrith in 2020 and 2021.
But Burton has instead been bogged down by having to game manage at the Bulldogs, having had seven separate halves alongside him in two years of varying experience.
It's something Hutchison wants to assist with, by becoming the chief organiser and freeing Burton up to return his best.
"He is just such an athlete and such a good physical presence," Hutchison said.
"That role that he's going to be playing, he'll be just taking opportunities when he sees them and leaving the control of our sets up to me.
"We've all seen his long kicking game. I'm happy just to let him take out take complete control of that, and just the benefit that it can have on our side.
"Our combination will grow just through conversations with each other and understanding how we like the ball, understanding how each other plays."
Hutchison said it was something he and coach Cameron Ciraldo had spoken about from the moment he arrived at the club.
"The conversations that we had, he's like 'you do have a voice you do know how to communicate with people'," Hutchison said.
"And that's something that we as a club, we can really benefit from."
