Blake Green says he felt 'to embarrassed to walk his son to school' when the Warriors had a poor performance last year.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck could yet feature for the Warriors this weekend.
Though he was named on Tuesday to face the Knights, it seemed to be more in hope than genuine expectation, as the fullback battled an ankle ligament strain picked up in the final trial against the Tigers.
He didn't train at all last week, with Peta Hiku running in his place at the back, and only had his first field session on Monday.
But there were encouraging signs on Wednesday, as the 26-year-old was put through various drills.
"He had a couple of boxes he needed to tick and he ticked those," said coach Stephen Kearney. "He would've got through 80 per cent of it. If you'd asked me [at this time] last week, it would be a slim chance but he has progressed really well."
However, Kearney emphasised that they wouldn't be taking any chances with their most important asset.
"It's up to the medical team and obviously Roger [himself] is a good indicator," said Kearney. "If he didn't feel confident, he would have put his hand up and said he was no good. But also, if there is any risk, we are not taking it. It's round one."
On the other major selection talking point, Kearney said the decision around the No 6 jersey was "pretty close", with Chanel Harris-Tavita's superior kicking game a factor in his favour over Kodi Nikorima, while adding that his game management has improved significantly over the last 12 months.
Their respective positions will be fixed for the medium term - "you can't chop and change in that area" - and Kearney said Nikorima had taken the news well, despite his obvious disappointment.
"Kodi understands it is what we think is best for the footy team," said Kearney. "He can be an asset for us coming off the bench, provide some real spark."
The Warriors' travel plans have been affected by Covid-19, with their scheduled 1pm flight on Thursday cancelled, and the team will now fly early in the morning.
The NRL kicks off amid the looming worldwide shadow of the outbreak and the club won't be taking any chances, given their heavy travel schedule.
"We've had our medical team come in, they have spoken to us twice now," said Kearney. "We are taking extra precautions on heading over there [on Thursday]."
Each member of the squad has been given an individual medical pack, with various anti-bacterial sprays and gels.
"We are taking every precaution that we can, to make sure someone in the group doesn't catch it," said Kearney. "We will keep our fingers crossed there. I think we only have five cases here in New Zealand and we want to keep it that way.
"I've been through the airport a couple of times since it has been out ... and I think we will be okay. [But the players] are taking it seriously. It's important, because if one of us gets it it's going to be a challenge to get him to play ... it has to be taken seriously."
Kearney also commended the strong stance taken by the Bulldogs on Wednesday, after Kiwis second rower Corey Harawira-Naera and teammate Jayden Okunbor were stood down over a breach of team protocol after inviting female high school students back to their hotel.
"That's not on," said Kearney. "If someone did that in our footy team they would be sitting out this weekend too. That's not good enough. If something like that happened here I would be doing exactly the same."
"I made our group aware of it that it's not on. That sort of behaviour shouldn't be tolerated."
