United youngsters will be taking nothing for granted against Grimsby tonight but they have shown great character in the majority of their games this season, not least on Friday night amidst a rain storm on the South Coast at Southampton where they battled hard to score a last minute equaliser through Elias Sorensen to earn a 1-1 draw in the Premier League Cup group stages.
Sorensen has grabbed the headlines this season with his 14 goals - two of them coming in the Checkatrade - but there have been many other success stories for Dawson's side.
Nathan Harker has been outstanding between the posts, Kell Watts has been impressive at the heart of defence, skipper Owen Bailey has drove them on from midfield and Sean and Matty Longstaff have really stamped their authority on both the Checkatrade Trophy and Premier League 2 this term.
It could be argued that Sean Longstaff is a class above playing reserve team football these days after playing regularly for Blackpool in League One this season and earning a first team squad place at United.
But the Checkatrade has been the big stage for him at times and he has impressed watching scouts with another round of loan bids expected in January when Newcastle have a big decision to make on the former North Shields Athletic Junior.
Cal Roberts has also looks ready to go out on loan again with the winger impressing for the second string but every player will need to step things up against the League Two side in their final Checkatrade group game - especially as Grimsby are in the mood for more cup glory.
Grimsby boss Michael Jolley is looking forward to welcoming Newcastle and feels his side are now on the up again after their FA Cup win.
He said: "It’s been a tough period for the team.
"We had that awful run and then bounced out of it, and then we’ve had another poor run with the three away games that we’ve had.
"We feel that we’re starting to turn our form around here at Blundell Park."
Dawson has consistently said the Checkatrade is a real chance to test his side's own levels of ability, he said: "I think it’s always a good barometer for them to test themselves against some seasoned pros.
"A lot of these lads have played at the top level and they’re dropping down the leagues, or they’ve played at that level for 400 or 500 games."
If Newcastle's team bus pulls out of Blundell Park with United in the knockout stages it will be a real sign of progress after bowing out at the group stages on the back of a 4-1 hiding at Oldham last term.