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Jamie Soward is chased down by Sika Manu during NRL Round 19, Melbourne Storm vs St George Illawarra Dragons, at Olympic Park, Melbourne, Monday, July 21, 2008. Melbourne won 26-0. AAP Image/Action Photographics/Jeff Crow
The opening round of season 2009 saw the St George Illawarra Dragons faced with the uneviable task of playing the Melbourne Storm at Olympic Park – a match which saw the Red V display the credentials necessary that would see it lift the Minor Premiership 26 weeks later.
It was Wayne Bennett’s first game in charge of a Dragons unit that has continually under achieved despite a roster containing some of the NRL’s most solid players.
Having farewelled coach Nathan Brown and key figures Mark Gasnier and Jason Ryles during the off-season, the Dragons approached a new dawn under master coach Wayne Bennett, and the signs early on proved very encouraging.
Despite losing to the Storm in Golden point extra-time, the Dragons had showed enough in that performance to suggest the side was ready to make its presence felt come early October.
And for the majority of season 2009, it appeared as if the Dragons had mastered the ability to perform at their best when expectations were at their highest.
Terrific away wins against the Brisbane Broncos and the Parramatta Eels in consecutive weeks arguably layed the platform for a dominant showing that culminated in a seven match-winning streak during the latter stages of the season.
The Dragons winning run was eventually ended by the Canberra Raiders – a 24-12 loss that unfortunetly signalled the start of another late season collapse.
Wayne Bennett’s men would go on and lose 12-2 to a resurgent Brisbane Broncos outfit at home before succumbing meekly to rivals the South Sydney Rabbitohs 41-6 a week later.
Despite securing the Minor Premiership with a thumping 37-0 victory against the Parramatta Eels, the result did little in the end to revive what looked such a promising Premiership campaign.
The loss of form and confidence paved the way for the Dragons to become the first Minor Premiers in the NRL to bow out of the finals thanks to consecutive losses against the Eels and Broncos.
With season 2010 now just around the corner, the Dragons will once again approach the year as one of the teams most favoured to lift the Telstra Premiership.
Their roster is well balanced, with speed to burn in the backline, a smart halves combination and a hard working yet, mobile forward pack.
Fullback Darius Boyd proved to be one of the main revelations for the Dragons last season, consolidating his status as one of the NRL’s best kick returners, notching up over 1460 metres throughout the course of 2009.
His ability to get past the first line of defence was invaluable in allowing the Dragons to constantly set themselves up in good field position.
Test winger Brett Morris finished as the leading tryscorer in season 2009, scoring 25 tries in 24 matches.
His success on the flanks was largely attributed to the service provided by the terrific halves combination of Jamie Soward and Ben Hornby, who at times, had all the time in the world to produce the clinical pass or kick which would lead to a four pointer.
Of course, such time with the football in hand is only possible thanks to the hard work of a Dragons forward pack that proved too strong for the majority of opposition last year.
Michael Weyman, Jeremy Smith, Ben Creagh, Dean Young, Neville Costigan and Dan Hunt all layed the foundations for the Dragons successes up the middle of the park and out wide.
The versatility of players such as Ben Creagh and Beau Scott in particular provided the Dragons with an edge in attack not many teams where able to defend.
There is no doubting the Dragons have the players and game necessary to lift the Premiership in 2010 and signal the start of a dominant era for the Red V.
When placed under pressure though, the Dragons have tended to resort to passive tactics, and often become one of the most error prone and penalised teams in the competition.
Their finals showing against the Eels at Oki Jubilee was the very definition of a side that buckled under the pressure of finals football, becoming too hesitant in attack against a team they had beaten 37 nil a week earlier.
Such lapses in form cannot be repeated if the Dragons are to win their maiden NRL Premiership.
If they can tick that box, then there is no question why the Red V can’t make 2010 the year of the Dragon.