A tenacious comeback wasn't enough to get St George Illawarra over the line in last night's 18-12 trial defeat to the Cowboys in Perth.
Despite fielding the strongest line up so far under rookie coach Steve Price, the Dragons couldn't eclipse North Queensland's 18-point spree from the opening 20 minutes.
Off the back of a late first-half try, the Red V slowly but surely began to show elements of their trademark defence, holding Neil Henry's men scoreless in the closing stanza.
After 30 minutes locked at 18-6, a burrowing Jake Marketo lessened the deficit to eight, giving his side a glimmer of hope with 10 minutes remaining.
The Dragons created several opportunities, much to the delight of a vocal 8523 crowd, but none led to points on the board.
The loss leaves Price with less than a week to reshuffle his playing roster ahead of the Dragons' annual Charity Shield game against the Rabbitohs.
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