It only takes one glance to see that the similarities are amazing.St George Illawarra's 2010 season is a virtual carbon copy of this time last year.After 19 rounds, the Dragons are 13 wins and four losses. Their points differential is almost identical.St George Illawarra are sitting pretty atop the NRL ladder with 30 competition points, with a for-and-against of positive 189. At this time last year it was positive 181.
Full coverage of the Dragons But while the early-season talk was of coach Wayne Bennett trying to boost their attacking firepower, the basic statistics suggest they're actually a better defensive team than 12 months ago.Wayne's wall has conceded just 182 points, or 10.7 per game, compared to 230, or 13.5 per game, in 2009. But will history repeat?With seven weeks until the finals, Dragons fans are being careful not to talk about a breakthrough premiership after last year's spectacular crash resulted in five losses in their last six games.Entering the crucial period of the year which will make or break their season, young prop Trent Merrin said the team wasn't carrying the burden of last year's failure."It's always in the back of your mind, what happened last year," he said. "But it's a new year and all the boys are taking it week by week, and it's not a burden."We're bringing the game on every week and worrying about winning, not so much (about) what happened last year."Merrin's reassurance comes as the Dragons prepare to face a desperate Gold Coast team, at WIN Jubilee Oval on Friday night, trying to arrest a three-game losing streak to save their ailing season.The Titans will be without NSW representative Greg Bird, who is set to be sidelined for a month with a hamstring tear.And while Merrin dismissed the pressure surrounding the Dragons to avoid another form slump, the 20-year-old prop claimed he was handling the extra expectation of carrying the load without suspended front-rower Michael Weyman and the injured Dan Hunt."You always feel a bit of pressure fall on your shoulders when the best forward in the game (Weyman) is out," he said."And Dan Hunt was playing awesome, so you feel a bit of a weight on your shoulders."But I'm happy with how I'm going, I'm not trying to be a Michael Weyman because he's out. He's his own player and I'm my own player, and I'm just trying to do my bit for the team."
