"Honestly, it's been shithouse," Lawrie said of his form following the Dragons victory over the Tigers on Sunday. It's an honest take, one few of his peers would offer when asked about their own performance.

It's also surprising given the career-best season he produced in 2023, one that saw him crowned club player of the year and fans' choice player of the year at the Dragons end-of-season awards.

While he's confident he can find that form again, the veteran bookend says he wasn't at all surprised to hear he was on the selection chopping block following last weekend's loss to the Knights.

"I was playing terribly so I wouldn't have blamed Flanno at all," Lawrie said.

"I know I wasn't playing well, and whatever happened would have happened. He just said, 'fix your game' and I know I wasn't playing up to my standard, the team's standard or his standard that he expects.

"I just have to go out there and ensure that Flanno trusts me to do a job, and it's going to be week by week until I regain that trust.

"I haven't been happy with [my form], it's about bouncing back. I know I am going to have bad games, but I just happened to have a month of bad footy.

"I am honest with myself and I'll stand myself in the mirror and be able to get better."

Had he been punted from the top grade it would have been a first for the 27-year-old, who has logged 20-plus games every year since 2019, only sporadic injury outs seeing the Dragons run out without him.

It's that resume that leaves him confident he can recapture the career-best form he produced last year.

"I've been through poor form and I've come out the other side and hopefully I come out the other side of this one too," Lawrie said.

"If you get in that negative mindset, it can spiral down pretty quickly. If you're always thinking why am I not playing well, you'll continue not playing well.

"I've played 100-plus NRL games now. I know what I need to do to get my body right.

"I'll continue to work hard and be consistent on the training paddock and on days off to keep stacking the odds in my favour, and the tables will turn for me."