Director of Dragons Rugby Dean Ryan has urged the players to grasp the opportunity to impress as they report back for pre-season.
The new-look squad returned to training at Ystrad Mynach today (Monday) as preparations for the new Guinness PRO14 and European Challenge Cup begin.
Ryan is determined to create the right environment to help players express themselves and nurture young talent at the region.
However, he admits it is vital the Dragons take the chance to impress from day one and show they can part of the long-term plans.
“I want this to be a place of opportunity,” said Ryan. “My job here is to create enough stability to allow opportunity to thrive.
“We will not solve any issues we have unless we can create the right environments that support that want 'to take the opportunity'.
“We need to understand who has potential in our group,” he added. “Everyone is talking about potential, but we have got to get a better understanding of that.
“We’ve got to look at what excites us. There is a lot of good intent, but it has lost some of the lights that turn us on.
“We’ve got to strip some stuff back, work out what we want to be about.
“We have talent, but maybe we’re not getting the best out of that. It’s about creating the environment to help that talent express itself. That is what the next few months and pre-season is about.
Ryan has also vowed to take his time over any decisions to benefit the region in the long-term.
He said: “I wrote a list the other day of what I don’t understand here. I won’t be the first coach here who has thought that, so I’m really looking forward to coming in on Monday and starting that process.
“I want players to feel animated about playing their game here. I’m looking forward to find out about them.
“I’m here to listen in the early stages,” he concluded. “I probably wouldn’t have done that a few years ago, but I’m not in a rush to come up with answers. That is dangerous.
“I have spoken to a lot of people and heard a lot of the right things, but something has not been right so I’m not rushing anything.”
