Trent Barrett was officially unveiled as coach of the NRL club for 2021 on Wednesday, giving the Dragons junior a second shot at a head coaching role.

The current Penrith assistant coach was given his first opportunity at Manly in 2016, but only lasted 72 games.

After moving to the Bulldogs this season after three seasons in the NRL with Melbourne, Stimson is looking forward to having a fellow Temora product as coach.

"It's exciting," Stimson said.

"It will be a different experience but I love the may Trent played and how he coaches.

"He has a very attacking style of coaching and it is probably what we need at the Bulldogs.

"Our attack has probably lacked a bit over the past couple of years so it will be good to get a fresh face in there and some new ideas."

However as he recovers from season-ending shoulder surgery, the 24-year-old admitted the sacking of Pay was hard to take.

"It was a tough one as he's very well-liked as a person and respected as a coach," Stimson said. "The way it went down was a little bit disappointing in the sense that everyone saw it coming and needed a change.

"Dean was quite good for the club and one of the greats of the club really so everyone really respected his opinion.

"It's just unfortunate how it all went down but that is football and you have to move on."

Stimson injured his shoulder in round two of the season but the two surgery he required was delayed due to the coronavirus crisis.

However he's thrilled with how the rehab process is going now.

"It's moving really quickly now," Stimson said.

"I can start doing bench pressing, dumbbell pressing and a lot of push moments which I struggled with before. I can start running so now it's a pre-season before the pre-season really."

It won't affect his preparations for next season.

Stimson is still in the NRL bubble and was pleased with how his teammates responded to a difficult week.

Not only did the club formally part ways with Pay but also had Corey Harawira-Naera and Jayden Okunbor successfully appeal the deregistration of their contracts.

The Bulldogs have only won one game this season but led St George Illawarra 20-10 at half-time before the Dragons rallied to win 28-22.

Stimson expects they can build on that performance up against Newcastle on Sunday.

"I think the performance against the Dragons, although we got beat after a 12-point lead was quite positive," he said.

"Especially with the week we had been a bit of a roller coaster of emotion after losing the coach and getting a bit of information after Corey Harawira-Naera and Jayden Okunbor coming back.

"It was a very weird week but the result could have gone either way and it is a credit to us really."

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