It was an ugly win but St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin is hoping Sunday's 32-12 thrashing of Canterbury will reignite his team's NRL season.
The Dragons have been languishing over the past month since their stunning win over Parramatta in round five, losing their next three games before Sunday night.
With a clash with Melbourne looming in Brisbane next weekend, Griffin wants the Dragons to show themselves that they can compete with the top sides in the competition.
"They (Melbourne) are the form team of the competition at the moment, the way they took apart South Sydney the other night," Griffin said.
"It'll be a good test for us.
"It's a test we need to take us to another level, you've got to be able to compete at that level.
"We've only been going nine weeks but we've been able to compete hard with the top four sides... the Roosters for a half and we beat Parramatta.
"What that looks like next week, we have a whole week to prepare for, we're just happy we got through tonight without any major issues."
Tryscorer Mathew Feagai is the only casualty from Sunday's victory, with the debutant winger suffering a rolled ankle that could see him miss Magic Round against the Storm.
Backline players Zac Lomax, Cody Ramsay, Brayden Wiliame and Jayden Sullivan are already in the casualty ward.
However, Mikaele Ravalawa is due to return from suspension for the clash.
The Dragons showed defensive resilience in the first half against the Bulldogs but put the icing on the win late in the second half when Will Hopoate was sin-binned for a professional foul.
Feagai and fellow debutant Junior Amone both scored as well as Corey Norman and Paul Vaughan, while fullback Matt Dufty claimed a double.
After three weeks of losses, the boost of positivity could revive what was a promising start to the year.
"It was a big night for our club," Griffin said.
"We've got a lot down injured at the moment so to bring two 19-year-olds in who haven't played first grade before... it was good for them individually, but for the team and our club to debut players and see them play like that is a good night."
Australian Associated Press
