St George Illawarra have emerged from Easter as believers.

The club has been the surprise packet of the NRL this season, leading the competition after seven rounds with an impressive 6-1 record.

With every win the Dragons are proving doubters wrong and skipper Gareth Widdop says the feeling is building within the group.

“Over the last few weeks we’ve certainly got a belief,” Widdop said.

“It starts from the pre-season and all the hard work has been paying off for us.”

An undermanned North Queensland became the Saints’ latest scalp as they held off a second-half fightback after going to the break 28-4 on Saturday night.

Widdop said the Cowboys’ comeback was the “kick in the backside” the Dragons needed ahead of a massive clash with the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium on Anzac Day.

“We’ll take a lot of positives from the first half and a lot of learnings from the second half,” Widdop said.

Widdop, who is one of a number of players to start the season in stellar form for the Red V, said their defence had been a big part of turning around a disappointing 2016 season in which they finished 11th.

“We certainly simplified things a lot from last year,” Widdop said.

“When you defend well you’ve obviously got a lot more energy to attack.

“On the back of that a big forward pack playing simple football and at the moment it’s working for us.

“It’s just about doing it week-in, week-out and being consistent.”

And there is little time for dwelling on the past after laying the foundations for their first top four finish since Wayne Bennett coached the club.

We don’t like talking about last year. We’ve certainly moved on from that – new roster, new coaching staff,” he said.

“We’ve found out who we are as a team, what we’re about and how we like to play.”