And beating the Roosters 24-22 on Saturday night is a good start after a disappointing 2016 saw the Sea Eagles finish 12th and miss the finals for the second succussive year.

And while only a trial, Barrett will get a lot of confidence out of his side’s strong performance with both teams at near full strength.

The retirements of Jamie Lyon, Brett Stewart and Steve Matai will hurt the squad, but the signing of No.6 Blake Green allows Dylan Walker to return to the centres where he was at his damaging best against the Chooks.

And with recruits Martin Taupau, Nate Myles and Green, as well as a strong off-season for Daly Cherry-Evans, could see the Sea Eagles improve markedly this season.

“I’m a lot more settled this time around,” Barrett said.

“Last year, I don’t mind saying, was a difficult year. I came into a club that was going through a fair bit of change.

“We’ve had a huge turnover of players and the end of an era, so to speak. The club has been so dominant for such a long time and all these players have retired now, so we’re starting again.

“Last year we had some big decisions to make, not just on the field but in and around our roster and how we were doing things off the field at training, and 12 months in it’s certainly a lot more stable than it was last year and I’m expecting to see those results come through on the field.”