Under scrutiny ... Jamie Soward is always marked hard by Dragons fans. Source: Brett Costello / News Limited
It will be nothing new but on Thursday St George Illawarra five-eighth Jamie Soward will again be the man very much in the hot seat.
As usual it will be his own fans who will be scrutinising his display most earnestly.
Thursday's annual Anzac Day clash with Sydney Roosters marks Soward's first performance since it was revealed he will be heading to the foot of the mountains come the end of this season.
It was somewhat surprising that this revelation came out of the blue. Usually the tom-toms are sounding well in advance of such an announcement - but not on this occasion.
In accordance with the growing trend of players who sign elsewhere while still having a substantial period of time to perform with their current club, Soward will look to finish his time at the Dragons by providing the best service possible.
He will do so, however, with a different perception from the red and white faithful.
Any lapse in form or poor display will be looked upon as evidence that now that his future has been secured at Penrith he has settled into a comfort zone through a loss of intensity.
Anyone who knows a true competitor will recognise this as being way off the mark and I rate Soward as a player who competes.
However a number of Dragons fans will experience a sense of betrayal, knowing that the support they are now providing is for someone who will be wearing different colours next year and that is hard to reconcile.
Ironically one man who will fully understand the position that Soward is now in is his opposing number six James Maloney.
The Roosters recruit spent all of last year representing the Warriors after agreeing to terms with the tricolours the previous off-season.
After establishing his top-grade credentials by being a leading light in the New Zealanders' surge into the 2011 grand final, Maloney put together a mixed season to follow.
He was well mentioned in Origin dispatches leading into last year's series but his form tended to plateau along with the Warriors' campaign.
As unfair as it may be, some Warriors supporters have said to me that Maloney's head was already at Bondi Junction.
In his defence I got the impression that he could have won the Dally M for best player and their impression would still have been the same.
All external expectation aside, these two players will be key men in their respective team's chances on Thursday.
In recent weeks Soward has found a necessary consistency with his kicking game an obvious highlight.
You won't see a better display off the boot than his effort against Newcastle in round five, which was ultimately the difference between victory and defeat against the Knights.
Most encouragingly he appeared to run the football more often and came up with a couple of outstanding ball-and-all tackles on his own line.
The recent form of Maloney has also been of the highest order and he must know that this game is another that will be watched very closely by NSW coach Laurie Daley.
The relationship he has developed in such a short period of time with Mitchell Pearce has the potential to be the best in the league and would not look out of place against Queensland.
Along with Manly's Kieran Foran, Maloney is the best hole runner of our second receivers and has been encouraged by Trent Robinson to attack on both sides of the ruck.
The Roosters are looking to break a five-game losing streak in this particular contest which is invariably played in a finals type atmosphere.
It is a wonderful occasion and a rare way for our code to thank those men and women who protect our freedom and way of life.
