Ben Hunt isn't concerned about a potential Queensland recall yet with his aim on keeping St George Illawarra in the finals race as they cling to eighth spot.
The Dragons halfback admitted that "at the moment, I wouldn't see us as a threat" for the play-offs after an insipid 28-6 loss to last-placed Canterbury on Monday.
For-and-against has kept St George Illawarra inside the top eight but Cronulla, the Warriors and this Saturday's opponents Canberra are also on 12 competition points.
Hunt, who was initially left out of the Maroons squad for Origin I before being included as 18th man, is in the mix to reclaim his Queensland jersey after the series-opening 50-6 loss.
"I want to get a good game in for the Dragons this weekend and if I pop up for Queensland then I'll think about that then," Hunt said leading into the round 15 clash at WIN Stadium.
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"I think we've got the right talent here to make the finals, but we've just got to turn our attitude up a bit," the captain added.
"We definitely had the talent to win that game on the weekend, but it was just the attitude and the intent towards the game to really go after it that let us down."
Hunt is adamant the club's decision not to re-sign electric fullback Matt Dufty and five-eighth Corey Norman for next season will impact the duo's mindsets.
"The only way it's going to be a disruption is if those two guys let it be. I think they're mature enough to not let that get to them," Hunt said.
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"They’ll work out what they have to do off the field with their managers and whatnot but come game time they're a Dragon this year and we want them here this year.
"I think they know that and they're going to be putting their best performance out there."
Meanwhile, second-rower Jack Bird described the defeat to Canterbury as "pretty embarrassing" but has no doubt about the heights the Dragons can reach.
He indicated they needed to rediscover the physicality and passion that defined their impressive 4-1 start to the campaign.
"We know what it takes to win comps - if we want to win a comp and make the top eight or top four, we've got to put it down to our defence and we've got to show up every week," Bird said.
"We can't slack off one week and be good the next. We've got to keep that standard and keep up top with the top teams. We let ourselves down on the weekend.
"We've shown what we can do throughout the season, we've just got to get back to that and find that hunger again. It's there, it's definitely there, we've just got to find it again.
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"I know the type of team we have and I know we can go places, but for some reason we're just not doing it. But I've got full confidence in the team and the squad and coaching staff.
"By the end of the season hopefully we can stay in the top eight or even try and get to the top four, but we know we need to do much better than we have been."
Prop Paul Vaughan added: "It's just an attitude, really. The team's the same as what it was at the start of the year.
"The personnel is there. We've just got to be more consistent."
