St George Illawarra put five tries past the Warriors and scored 25 unanswered points as they ran away with a 31-12 NRL win in a wind-swept Auckland.
But coach Steve Price hailed his side’s defence as the Dragons shut out the Warriors in the second half on the way to back-to-back victories to start their season.
“We hung tough and we got the job done,” he said.
Price pointed to his players’ ability to keep the deficit to six points at the interval after facing a stiff breeze caused by the remnants of Cyclone Lusi.
He also cited their ability to stay resilient when the Warriors had their moments attacking their line in the second spell.
“It was pleasing to go in at halftime 12-6 with the amount of field position the Warriors had and I knew the tide would turn,” he said.
“I was happy with the guys, especially with the goalline defence in the middle of the second half when we were under the pump and the boys stood tall.”
The result extended the Dragons’ winning streak over the Warriors to nine matches dating back to 2008.
Skipper Ben Creagh couldn’t explain his club’s superiority, but said he didn’t believe in hoodoos.
“Apparently we have one against Canberra and I don’t believe in that either,” he said of the Dragons’ own nine-game losing run against the Raiders.
The Warriors were left waiting for their first win of the year, and their first at Eden Park after four attempts.
The loss was compounded by skipper Simon Mannering being put on report for a high tackle on Kiwis teammate Jason Nightingale.
There was also the disappointing sight of substitute Ben Henry, who was coming back from a knee injury, limping off near the end.
Coach Matthew Elliott was at a loss to explain his side’s performance.
“Our will to compete in the game at the moment could be questioned,” he said.
“I know we are a much better team than that.
“There’s something collectively, starting with me, that we’re not doing right.”
The match turned on the three minutes after halftime, when the Dragons scored through fullback Adam Quinlan and centre Gerard Beale to jump out to an 18-12 lead.
Victory was sealed with a length-of-the-field effort from winger Brett Morris, before Creagh added the icing by dotting down in the final minute.
In the first half, the Warriors made a fast start, with prop Ben Matulino leading the way with some big runs and offloads.
Their dominance brought dividends in the fourth minute, as fullback Sam Tomkins got his first NRL try.
But the Dragons, added by Warriors indiscipline, responded when Mitch Rein scored from a dummy-half dab.
The visitors showed good structure in their attack, but it was the Warriors who struck next through centre Jerome Ropati.
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