St George Illawarra pivot Jamie Soward declared his side’s defensive effort against Gold Coast as the best in two years as the Dragons desperately stayed within reach of the NRL top eight.
The Dragons beat the Titans 8-6 at WIN Stadium on Friday night to move within two points of eight-placed Manly, but it was the manner of the victory which had the red and whites believing they were far from a spent force.
Ironically it was an error from Soward which created the belief, when he failed to find the touch after the Dragons were awarded a scrum penalty on their own ten metre line.
“After I failed to kick out for touch, we had five or six sets on our line – it was just good to know that we didn’t feel threatened at any time,” Soward said.
“We just always felt in control.
“We did what were supposed to do – we hung in there, got people in tackles, controlled the tackle and started well.
“We didn’t care how we won tonight, there was a lot of relief there at the end, we hung in there. That’s the best we’ve defended in probably two years.”
Critics who have written off the Dragons as premiership contenders will again point to the team’s shortcomings in attack, with Daniel Vidot’s first half try the club’s only four-pointer of the game.
Taking up from where they left off in the second half against Canterbury last week, there was a willingness to keep the ball alive early in the game, but when it didn’t translate into points, the Dragons again went into their shell.
Soward admitted the attack remained a work in progress, but said it would be helped by the confidence gained from the team’s resolute defence.