RUGBY LEAGUE
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English international Mike Cooper says the current Dragons forward pack has the opportunity to lead the club into an exciting and successful period.
St George Illawarra's forwards were famously mocked and ridiculed during 2014 but the big men have played a major part in the Red V's current purple patch of form.
Punters were keen to shy away from the Dragons pre-season but the club has silenced the critics with seven wins from 10 games and an equal share of first place on the ladder heading into round 11.
They have a star halves combination and a Test fullback, but it has been the Dragons' forward pack that has attracted the most praise over the opening 10 rounds.
It's also one of the younger packs in the competition.
Cooper, Leeson Ah Mau, Jack de Belin, Joel Thompson, Tyson Frizell, Trent Merrin and Jake Marketo are all between the ages of 23 and 26.
Then there's skipper Ben Creagh who is 30, 27-year-old Will Matthews and veteran big man George Rose, who turned 32 on the eve of the season.
Russell Packer will be 26 when he is allowed to play first grade again at the beginning of 2016.
And while Merrin is on the move to Penrith, and Rose's playing future is uncertain, the club should enter next season with an almost identical forward pack.
"At the minute everything's going really well," Cooper said of the forwards.
"We're getting a bit more praise compared to what happened last year.
"We still need to go up a few levels when we get towards the back-end of the season.
"But we're not getting ahead of ourselves, we've come a long way in the space of 12 months, especially since Mary's taken over."
St George Illawarra have taken advantage of the bye this week to shore-up some of their big guys for the future.
Cooper signed a new two-year contract which will tie him to the club until the end of 2017.
Ah Mau followed his fellow prop into the recruiter's office to sign a new three-year contract, taking him through to the end of 2018.
Still off-contract this year are Creagh, Rose, Marketo and Matthews.
Creagh has repeatedly expressed his desire to remain at the club and is expected to sign a new contract in coming weeks.
NSW and Kangaroos representative Merrin, on the other hand, signed a lucrative deal with the Panthers back in March and is due to walk away from Wollongong at the end of this season.
It has been suggested he will take advantage of the NRL's round-13 get-out clause and stay with the Dragons, although he has denied any such contract backflip.
Cooper says the players would welcome Merrin with open arms if he did decide to pull on the red and white again next year.
"Mez is a great player, he was great for us last year and he's really stepped up again this year," Cooper said.
"He really works hard on his game, you're not going to get a more professional bloke than Trent Merrin.
"The way he goes about it, his lifestyle, he's dedicated to the sport.
"When you see a bloke putting that much effort in it really rubs off on everyone else."
For Cooper, the opportunity to remain in Wollongong for another two years was too tempting to pass up.
The big prop landed in the city ahead of the 2014 season, following a lengthy stint with Super League club Warrington, and has notched up 32 games for the Dragons to date.
The club offered him a contract extension and he was quick to sign on the dotted line.
"The Dragons asked me if I wanted to stay and it was a simple decision really," Cooper said.
"We're happy being here, we love where we live and we're really happy to be part of the club."