Instead, the squad faces the continued expectation placed upon them as a result of their sensational surge to the top.

Dragons captain Ben Hornby admitted he preferred to forget about the hard slog that provided the basis for their outstanding season.

"It put us in good stead, but we look back on those (training sessions) with probably not too (many) fond memories," he said.

"But they're probably the reason why we are where we are.

"Obviously if you get there on Monday and a lot of blokes can't train, there's not much point in going over there (WIN Stadium) and going through any team work.

"It's a bit of a freshen up and to get the blokes back on the field fresh and ready to go."

The pool session was a welcome change for the battle-hardened Dragons squad, who finally broke the Melbourne Storm hoodoo with a hard-fought 26-12 win at Kogarah's WIN Jubilee Oval on Friday night.

In preparing for a clash with Penrith at CUA Stadium, the Dragons are now chasing the minor premiership, sitting four points clear of nearest rivals the Bulldogs.

Hornby and his team-mates were swamped by a group of well-wishing, autograph-hunting children who were attending an athletics carnival at the neighbouring Beaton Park athletics track.

It was another indication of the community excitement in the Illawarra surrounding the raging premiership favourites.

Hornby said the team had to deal with heightened expectation as best they could without getting caught up in the hype.

"It's a problem," Hornby said.

"It's hard, you know. Obviously you can see with the kids here today there's a lot of excitement around the town.

"It's good in one respect, but it's one of those things where you've just got to focus on what's happening next week."