THE last time St George Illawarra won five games in a row was in 2018 and one of the remaining players from that squad is Gerringong's Tariq Sims.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And the damaging back-rower sees plenty of similarities between that side and Anthony Griffin's 17-man squad that will take on New Zealand at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Sunday.
"Whenever you're winning, there's always a good feeling around the club but to me, we still haven't strung together a full 80-minute performance, which is encouraging," Sims said.
"Obviously that team in 2018 was known for its defence and that's something we're focusing on as a group too.
"The results on the field are a result of us working extremely hard and smart on the training paddock - we're applying ourselves as best we can.
"Every question asked from us from the coaches is being answered.
"We know we haven't put our best game out on the field yet and that's something we are all striving for as a group.
"Once we do that, I'm sure it'll be something all the fans will be really proud of."
The 31-year-old, from a personal perspective, has started to regain that form which saw him make two State of Origin appearances for NSW in 2018 and 2019.
"My game is a work in progress, as we aren't entirely happy with what we are tossing up," he said.
"While the team and I have shown patches that we are happy with, we know there are still a couple of levels we can go up to.
"All that's up to us and is in our control - until we do that, none of us, including myself, are going to be entirely happy with our performances."
While the Red V is flying high after defeating Parramatta on Sunday, they aren't getting ahead of themselves against a dangerous Warriors outfit.
"After coming off that Eels win, we're really focused on our own performance, by getting through our video sessions and doing all we can personally to prepare for the Warriors, who are always tough," the Fijian international said.
"The Eels cracked our line a couple of times last week and it's those sort of points we don't want to be leaking, especially coming up against a powerful Warriors side, who have strike-power all over the field.
"From Roger [Tuivasa-Sheck] at the back to Leeson [Ah Mau] in the middle of the park, who has been doing what he does best the past few weeks which is banging blokes and so I'll be trying to avoid him in the middle of the ruck if I can."
Sunday's match from 2pm will also see Sims match-up against a fellow Gerringong Lion in Jack Murchie - who will start in the second-row for the visitors.
"It's always cool coming up against fellow Lions, so this Sunday will be no different - especially as Jack has started to string a couple of strong performances together," he said.
Another weapon to help the Dragons' attempts at extending the winning streak is the addition of former Australian and Queensland representative Josh McGuire.
"Josh is fitting in really well thus far, adapting to our game style and our players here at the club," he said.
"He's an upfront and honest character which I love - blokes like that are pretty hard to come across these days.
"He's going to add a lot to our middle, as he a ball-player - which is what I'm most looking forward to.
"He'll add another dimension to our attacking game and I'm sure everyone is going to feed off his energy on the field."
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.