Most fans in that situation put the loss behind them and try not to dwell on it because it hurts. But not me, I have to think about the loss and come up with reasons why it happened.

The last few years have been good for Dragons bloggers because there hasn’t been a whole lot of losses to try and put a positive spin on. Well, except for the bulk of the last 11 rounds. For me it got progressively harder to find that silver lining on what was a grey cloud that just kept getting bigger and darker.

So I’m very happy – and very much relieved that I don’t have to write yet another blog about yet another loss.

I’m not going to kid myself and say that it was a return of the Dragons of old, because there were still a few big blunders in defence (hello, Mark Gasnier), in kicking (hello, Ben Hornby) and ill-discipline (hello, Nathan Fien).

But there were also extended glimpses of great from that really built on last week’s effort against the Storm. Darius Boyd, who has been castigated by some on fan forums for allegedly clocking off since he decided to head to Newcastle, showed he came to play for the first time in quite a while. He made some great runs down the left side, set up a try or two and even saved some with a bit of last-ditch defence.

That entire left edge of Boyd, Matt Cooper, Brett “new dad” Morris and Ben Creagh linked up in a way they hadn’t in months.

While the improvements in attack were easy to see I thought there were some equally impressive efforts in defence. For much of the second half, the Dragons put the Warriors under pressure and frustrated them into mistakes and ill-discipline.

Again, it wasn’t the remorseless Dragons defence we once knew. But it’s a damn sight better than what we’ve seen lately.

And it’s a sign that we’re still getting better. With the finals just two weeks away, that’s welcome news indeed.