Head Coach Dai Flanagan believes the Judgement Day clash with Scarlets at Cardiff City Stadium will be an ‘open game’ – with two teams packed full of young talent eager to impress.
The Men of Gwent are hunting a first season double over the West Walians since 2007/08 when they meet in the BKT United Rugby Championship on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).
Dragons won a tense battle 13-12 when the teams met in wet conditions at Rodney Parade in January in Round 9.
But Flanagan is expecting a very different clash in the capital as the curtain falls on the 2023/24 campaign.
“It wasn’t a great spectacle when we played them on New Year’s Day,” he admitted.
“The scrums turned halfway through the game, went back and forth, and the win was built on a decision at the end that gave us the win.
“I think it will be a lot more open than the last game,” he added.
“It's two teams wanting to impress, full of youngsters when you look at the likes of Eddie James, Tomi Lewis, Ryan Conbeer for Scarlets. Players that want to impress.
“Dan Davis is back, and he is a great athlete, against Taine Basham. It should be a good day.
“Hopefully we'll get a good crowd there because we’ve got the best players in Wales playing.
“We've got the best up and coming youngsters playing, the likes of Rio (Dyer) and Aaron (Wainwright) too, people like Ben Carter and Matthew Screech back in the row.”
Flanagan made the decision to name his team early and handed youngsters like Joe Westwood, Ryan Woodman and Brodie Coghlan starts.
But he acknowledged it could be the experience on the bench that proves pivotal as Dragons look to end the game strong in the final quarter.
“Someone told me a stat that if we paused games at home on 60 or 65 minutes, we would have won a lot more,” he admitted.
“We've only won three league game at home - we could have added another four or five in there.
“We’ve got to look at the reasons why and the players on the bench have a massive role to see us home.
“The opportunity for the guys to start is great, it’s Judgement Day as well.
“We're building, we've got high expectations for a lot of players this weekend, and I'm looking forward to seeing them go.”
Tickets remain on sale NOW for Judgement Day 2024 - via the Cardiff City Stadium ticketing site - CLICK HERE
