The challenges faced by St George Illawarra throughout the opening seven weeks of the NRL season have been well-documented.
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From the loss of their captain, to injuries to Tyson Frizell and Korbin Sims and the indefinite suspension of Jack de Belin, the Dragons have been forced to overcome numerous hurdles throughout the past couple of months.
With those challenges, however, comes fresh opportunities. The likes of Jacob Host, Blake Lawrie and Matt Dufty have flourished, with the youngsters emerging as players of the future.
Those same players received a wake-up call of sorts last Thursday, when the Dragons struggled to handle the sense of occasion in the annual Anzac Day match at the SCG in their loss to the Roosters.
For veteran forward Tariq Sims, however, even last week's defeat comes with a silver lining. They may have struggled on the big stage once, but come finals time, Sims is confident the team's young players will thrive in a pressure-filled environment.
"Any sort of big game experience is going to benefit all of us players," Sims said. "For those blokes that haven't been in those pressure cookers before, even though we didn't win, they're going to take a lot of confidence from that.
"We'll look at the video, figure out where we should have executed and a few plays we shouldn't have done, because the Roosters have got those people that know when to step up and execute those plays in big pressure moments."
Particularly impressive last week was Luciano Leilua, who threatened the Roosters defensive line on multiple occasions in a 30-minute stint off the bench.
With the 22-year-old becoming more comfortable at the top-flight, Sims is confident that Dragons fans will see more impactful performances from Leilua as the season progresses.
"He's always been great with the ball in hand, there's no doubt about it. Now that he's starting to find his feet in the middle there, in a few more weeks when he knows he can inject himself into the game, when he can and can't do things with the ball, he's going to be a really outstanding player for us."
The Dragons face a long run up to this week's game, with Parramatta waiting on Sunday. While they remain optimistic, it's unlikely de Belin will return for the clash.
A judgement in his federal court proceedings challenging the NRL's no-fault stand down policy is expected this week, however, de Belin is not due in court on Tuesday.
Should a judgement come after Tuesday's deadline for naming this weekend's 21-man squad, St George Illawarra would have to apply for special exemption to play de Belin, a request likely to be denied by the NRL.
Regardless of whether de Belin plays or not, Sims is looking forward to taking to the freshly laid turf at Bankwest Stadium.
"It's a long turn around, which is pretty nice for us, we've had a few close games, so it's good to get a bit of a rest and go up to a brand new shiny stadium to play Parramatta.
"I'm really excited to play out there. I watched that first game from the warmup to the final credits and it looks like an outstanding field. We know what Parra fans are like, they're very enthusiastic, but our fans travel well, we're looking to get that corner packed out with red and white."
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