RUGBY LEAGUE
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Written off as too small and too soft before a ball was kicked this season, the Dragons' unheralded forward pack may now be at the forefront of a rugby league revolution as a push to cut the number of interchanges from next season keeps building momentum.
Following their 0-2 start, the Dragons sit equal-first on the ladder on the back of five consecutive wins, the first time they've achieved the feat since 2011.
Tellingly it's a run built on rock-solid defence from the team's 'lightweights' in the middle of the park.
Apart from Leeson Ah Mau, who tips the scales at 111 kilograms, the Dragons' starting forward pack barely crack the 100-kilo mark. Interchange "middles" Ben Creagh (103kg) and Jack de Belin (102kg) just get there while Jake Marketo (94kg) falls short. At 116kg George Rose, who missed Friday's win over Brisbane with a hamstring complaint, is the exception in an otherwise trimmed-down middle-forward rotation.
Perennial premiership contenders the Rabbitohs, Roosters and Bulldogs have built their success on the back of big forwards in recent seasons but - with an interchange reduction seeming inevitable - the Dragons may be have a blueprint for the future.
It means they're are unlikely to blow opposition teams off the paddock but English prop Mike Cooper (103kg) says the Dragons pack loves the grind.
"It's a scrap but enjoyable," Cooper said.
"We're all turning up for each other and when you know somebody's got your back and is covering for you it makes things a lot easier.
"That's what we've got at the moment. Beating the team at the top of the league [Brisbane] we're doing something right.
"There's some quality internationals in there and we knew how hard it was going to be but I thought we stood up and got one over on them which was a big thing for this club."
Cooper spent his first NRL season largely in the shadows of his more famous countrymen but has proven a revelation so far this season.
He produced the match-winning try with his side trailing the Broncos 10-6 late in Friday's clash.
Nevertheless, he feels he still has another level to go to after the birth of his first child limited his pre-season.
"I played in the Nines, only played about 10 minutes of football that weekend, missed the Charity Shield missed the Warrington game," he said.
"I've had to work hard on my fitness but I think I've got a decent engine. I'm 27 this year so I'm coming into my prime and I'm really enjoying my football."