The Red V faithful might be getting a case of deja vu but St George Illawarra are adamant their NRL season isn't dead in the water.
The Dragons have received a massive boost with Josh Dugan cleared of an ankle injury with their star centre set to take the field when their 2017 campaign goes on the line against the Gold Coast on Saturday.
After flying out of the blocks to lead the competition after seven rounds, the Dragons have been dismal since, winning just four of their last 13.
It's a familiar story - two years ago they led the league after 12 rounds only to flag badly, scrape into the top eight and exit the finals in the first week in a golden-point loss to Canterbury.
Their come-from-behind defeat to South Sydney saw them drop out of the top eight last week and they now face the ignominy of missing the finals.
Coach Paul McGregor says his side must win three of their last four to play finals and was adamant they aren't far from returning to their best.
"Form is only a week away," McGregor said.
"If you look at the last two weeks, we've got ourselves in a position to win but haven't. Now it's about making sure that we do."
McGregor denied the club was taking a risk with Dugan as their NRL finals hopes go on the line against the Titans at UOW Jubilee Oval.
Dugan acknowledged Dugan as crucial to their chances of getting back in finals contention but dismissed the thought they were taking a chance with the NSW and Australian representative, arguing he had been cleared by club doctors.
The Titans are coming off a humiliating 54-0 thumping to Brisbane and are likely to be without star halfback Ash Taylor because of a knee problem.
"When we look at individual performances we're all disappointed," Titans coach Neil Henry said of last week's loss which has placed him in the firing line.
"The media will talk a story and keep talking it until things change, whether on not there's any truth to things.
"We will get hammered until our team plays better football."
McGregor has provided the NRL with a response to the breach notice he received following his outburst at the referees in the wake of his side's loss to Newcastle two weeks ago.
He was tight-lipped on both the proposed $10,000 fine and the contents of his submission to the NRL.
STATS THAT MATTER
* The Dragons have won nine of their last 11 matches at Kogarah, including three of four this season.
* This season the Dragons have been the best first-half team, scoring 254 points (the most in the league), while conceding just 162.
Source: Fox Sports Stats
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