Anthony Griffin is hoping and praying Ben Hunt's Origin masterclass carries over into what is set out to be a season-defining two-month stretch for the Dragons.
Hunt will back up for his club in Friday night's important encounter against the Sea Eagles buoyed by a Man of the Match display that helped guide the Maroons to a 20-18 victory in Game III that shut out a NSW Blues clean sweep.
After being snubbed in the series opener and playing off the bench in Game II, Hunt scored two vital second-half tries to ice the result for Queensland, wearing the No. 9 on his back in place of the injured Harry Grant.
Although he wasn't surprised given his form this season at club level, Griffin declared Hunt's display against the Blues on Wednesday night was the best game he's seen the Dragons halfback play.
"I thought his performance for us against the Warriors two weeks ago, some of the team plays he came up with and the way he just put himself on the line physically and led us out of that predicament we were in in the last 20 minutes, I thought that was one of his best performances for the Dragons this year that I've seen," Griffin said.
"But I think what he did the other night in Origin, over eighty minutes at that level of football, is the best I've seen him play.
"To be able to go into a game like that and put on a performance like he did just shows you the class and the type of player he is.
"He's having a really good season, we're happy with him and he seems happy within himself with his football. Like a lot of us over the years, he's probably not entirely happy with some of his performances from time to time, but he's been fit and consistent this year.
"We need him to do that for the next eight weeks here at the Dragons."
In his customary position at halfback in clubland, Hunt has enjoyed a career revival under Griffin this season in the Red V since being awarded the captaincy, after Cameron McInnes was ruled out for the season.
At the time, it was a decision that was met with vast backlash around the NRL given Hunt's struggles to live up to his lofty $1 million price tag since arriving at the Dragons in 2018.
But Griffin believes the added weight of responsibility has been the key to unlocking the next level to Hunt's game.
"I think he's just very relaxed. He's a really honest character, he's proud of his performances and as I said at the end of last year he wasn't happy with how things had been going," he said.
"He's the captain now, and I thought personally that would've helped him, even though that wasn't the main reason, I think he's the right person for our club, but he is the captain and that's empowered him I think.
"The extra responsibility's made him probably care a little bit more about his football.
"Not to say he didn't care about it but he's been able to unlock another level of performance out of him, which is pleasing to see.
"I'm a big fan of his and it's a great thing to see how well he's playing and how much he's enjoying his football at the moment."
Griffin said it was now up to Hunt and his other senior players to guide the team through what is cut out to be a testing period in the context of St. George Illawarra's finals hopes.
The club will endure one-game suspensions to 12 of its players who attended the now-infamous barbecue at axed prop Paul Vaughan's house, which will be split up over the next month, starting on Friday against Manly.
Having worked hard to establish themselves in the top eight throughout the season, the mass bans threaten to sabotage the Dragons' first year with Griffin in charge, with a difficult run home to the finals ahead.
"For all our guys, Origin's over now and at this stage of the season the intensity and the speed of the competition and the purpose that everyone plays with picks up across the park," he noted.
"It's more of a sprint than a marathon now over the next six to eight weeks.
"We've got some challenges in not being able to put out our best side every week but we're confident in the depth we've got at the club that we'll be able to maintain our spot over the next month.
"Individually players have got to lift and as a team we've got to go with that. Particularly over the next few weeks, where we've got to rest a few payers, guys like de Belin and Hunt and those types of guys (have to lift).
"They want that, I can see that in them, those guys like that type of battle, as you can see with Jack de Belin and the way he's come back over the last five or six weeks. I don't think that's something that's going to be foreign to them.
"We just need all of them to play as a team and put it together over the next few weeks."