The Dragons got up 30-16 the last time they met their arch-rivals in round five, their first win of what had been a dismal campaign to that point.

The much-needed victory was the first on a 4-2 run that's put them on the edge of eight, ironically one win behind the Sharks in a logjam on the fringe of the finals race.

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It remains a very much uphill climb to get over that hump and stay there, but McGregor hasn't spent any time ladder-gazing.

"Obviously it's where you want to be," McGregor said.

"Every team in the competition wants to be in the eight, once you're in the eight, you want to be in the four but we've got to take it one step at a time.

"The landscape can change pretty quickly in the NRL week to week. I think every week holds a different challenge and obviously this week's important, as next week will be.

"I thought we fell forward last weekend where in the past we've fallen backwards. We're just taking it week to week and making sure we prepare well to give ourselves the best chance to climb that ladder.

"Our main focus is on [Saturday's] game and the importance of going out there and performing."

The Dragons unquestionably got out of jail against the Bulldogs last week, leading 10-0 after seven minutes only to find themselves down 22-10 with 15 minutes to play.

They produced three tries down the stretch, including Corey Norman's match-winner courtesy of a Marcelo Montoya error, but McGregor said his side found something they wouldn't have earlier in the year.

"Certainly six weeks ago we couldn't have done what we did in the last 20 minutes last week," McGregor said.

"You don't disrespect any team and I thought the Bulldogs played really well last week. They gave us nothing, they were disciplined and it took us a long period of time to get the result.

"Against Manly we played well for the whole 80 and got rewarded late in that game. We got back into the game in the second half against the Dogs and got rewarded by scoring those points late.

"We had a great start to the game, went away from it, and came back into it and finished the game strongly so you take confidence away from that, but it's about playing the long game from the start. We've got to play like that for the whole 80."

The Sharks have been similarly hit and miss but will be full confidence after hammering the Warriors 46-10 last week in a Shaun Johnson masterclass.

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McGregor also expects the Sharks to be bent on revenge for their first meeting in what's always a fiery derby at Kogarah.

"They're a good footy team, they're head of us on the ladder and they'll be smarting over the loss they had to us six weeks ago," McGregor said.

"Their game revolves around a few keys players and [Johnson's] one of them. We've done some work around him but they've got some power players who lay the foundation for him to play on the front foot.

"We need to concentrate mainly on us but we respect who were playing for sure."