And he may get plenty of opportunity to do so, with new Canterbury coach Trent Barrett considering moving him closer to the action at lock.

After being squeezed out of Melbourne's first choice 17 in 2019, Stimson's first season of a three year deal with the Bulldogs was restricted to just two games due to a season-ending shoulder injury.

Although the surgery was delayed due to COVID, Stimson will be available to play in round one and has his fingers crossed for a smoother campaign personally.

"I'm getting to an age now where I've got to make a mark, or get left behind. It's going to be a big year for me and hopefully the body holds up," he said.

"It's been a tough couple of years. Last year was pretty hard because it was my first real major injury, and to only play two games in the first year for a new club was pretty disappointing.

"It (recovery) is going really well, I had a bit of a clean out about two weeks ago just to get a bit more range in the shoulder. Other than that it's feeling really good now, and I'll be available for selection for round one."

The 25-year-old has played the majority of his 53 NRL games on the edge as a back rower, but could revisit his Temora Dragons days by wearing the no.13 jersey as the Bulldogs embark on a new era.

"It sounds like I'll be playing a bit more in the middle. It will be good to get my hands on the ball a bit more, and to ball-play a bit more would be nice," he said.

"The majority of my time in the NRL has been spent in the back row, but I grew up playing lock.

"It's still up in the air (where I'll play), it depends on how I train and the make-up of the team."

The Bulldogs finished 15th last year and have struggled to score points the past few seasons, but Stimson is confident Barrett, who was attacking coach for grand finalists Penrith before heading to Belmore, can turn their issues around.

The recruitment of former Roosters half Kyle Flanagan is a step in the right direction, while NSW Origin representatives Nick Cotric (next year) and former Storm teammate Josh Addo-Carr (2022) will give them more strike out wide.

"A lot of our training has been around getting our attack right, and I think we're heading in the right direction with that," he said.

"We're a lot more organised with the ball and asking a lot more questions of the defence. Hopefully we can score a few more points, and Trent's been really good in that respect as well.

"From what I've seen of Kyle Flanagan he's very organised and a very talkative half. It's something we lacked last year (when Kieran Foran was injured) and I reckon our attack will be a lot better.

"Josh and Nick are both State of Origin players, so we've recruited really well. We've got a lot more strike power in the outside backs, you just have to give Josh the ball and he makes something out of nothing.

"I can't say a bad word about Trent, a lot of our conversations are about Temora and it's nice to have that connection."

READ MORE