Dragons are trophy contenders: Perrett

Despite sitting on top of the NRL table, St George-Illawarra will start as underdogs in Monday night's clash with Canterbury-Bankstown.

You could probably zap Canterbury fullback Sam Perrett with a stun gun and he wouldn't flinch, such is the calm demeanour that's helped him last almost 12 seasons in the NRL.

But tell him St George-Illawarra will start as underdogs against Canterbury and it almost blows his mind.

Ninth-placed Canterbury host the competition-leading Dragons on Monday night and bookmakers have installed the home side - losers in five of their past six but last-start winners over Canberra - as slight favourites.

"Is that right? Wow. What are they going on, some past record over the years or something?" said a flabbergasted Perrett.

For the record, the Bulldogs had won their past five against the Dragons before getting pummelled 31-6 by them in round six this season.

Perrett said the league's surprise packets had been going so well that he and his teammates would have to pull out their best performance of the year to upset them.

"They've been outstanding. We're going to have a massive challenge on our hands," he said.

"Canberra was a big challenge, and we were lucky to get away with that.

"These guys even more so. They've been defending really well.

"We've got to work our bums off to try and get some points off them and then also, they've been scoring a lot.

"We really need to bring one of our best games of the season to get this one."

The Dragons were in the middle of a seven-game winning streak when they stunned the Bulldogs with an 18-0 first half shutout almost two months ago.

Even after their run was brought to a grinding halt by defending premiers South Sydney in round nine, the Red V have since recorded back-to-back victories, including a 42-6 beatdown of Cronulla last week.

And while the Dragons haven't visited the finals for the past three years, Perrett this week declared they were definitely premiership contenders.

"The way they're playing, some of the things they're doing... I definitely think so," he said.

"All it can take in a team is a new scenery, or a breath of fresh air of some sort and it can turn around.

"I've experienced that in the past in my career with the Roosters - new coaches coming in, new players coming in.

"Benji's really leading the way there and some of the young forwards... they're doing it across the park. They're clicking."

The Dragons are currently sixth favourite to win the premiership, followed by the Bulldogs.


Share

3 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world