Four tries in the space of 12 minutes set the platform for victory, the Dragons blowing their opponents away in the second half.

Debutant Mat Feagai started the blitz in the 51st minute before Jack Bird looked to have extended the margin, only to be disallowed by the bunker.

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The centre was held back in chasing a grubber, Bulldogs skipper Will Hopoate sent to the sin bin after Bird failed to ground the ball.

The bunker ruled in the Dragons favour moments later, awarding Paul Vaughan a try despite Canterbury's complaints of obstruction.

Corey Norman made no mistake of the conversion and the hosts were up 16-0 and well on their way to victory.

The five-eighth added a four-pointer of his own in the 60^th minute, Norman and halfback Ben Hunt bouncing back from an underwhelming performance in last week's loss to the Tigers.

Tries to Matt Dufty and debutant Talatau Amone finished off the win, while the Bulldogs added two late tries of their own.

The match was all wrapped up, however, the Dragons racing away with a 32-12 victory in front of 7253 fans at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.

St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin was pleased with the result, but said his side were still well below their best.

"It was a scratchy performance, it wasn't a great performance," Griffin said.

"We got ourselves in a lot of trouble in that first half through ill discipline with the ball but defensively we were hanging in there really good.

"The first 20 to 25 minutes of the second half we got into our rhythm.

"I'm happy with the result, the boys were coming on the wrong end of the score line the last few weeks and it was great to see our debutants contribute."

The win was soured with 10 minutes to play, Mat Feagai leaving the field with a lower-leg injury after twisting awkwardly in a tackle. Josh McGuire was also placed on report in the 80^th minute for a late hit.

The side took their time to find their feet, a slow first half followed by an outstanding second half.

The opening 40 was in many ways reflective of St George Illawarra's season, the side outstanding in patches and poor in others.

Dufty was a standout, dangerous each time he touched the ball and running for 128 metres in the first half alone.

Eventually he broke through to open the scoring, the Dragons taking a six-nil lead in the 21^st minute.

From there, however, the home side dropped away, errors handing the Bulldogs multiple attacking opportunities.

Canterbury finished with 58% of possession in the opening stanza however they were unable to convert that into points.

St George Illawarra held firm defensively, a number of Bulldogs errors making their task easier, heading to the break with a six-point lead.

Such was Trent Barrett's disappointment with his side's attack, the Canterbury coach benched halfback Kyle Flanagan at half-time.

For a player recruited to lead a Bulldogs revival, it was a brave decision by the former Steelers star.

The 22-year-old's time on the sidelines lasted just 20 minutes, Flanagan returning to the field after Corey Allan was stretchered off the field.

With his team winning just one from nine, the halfback isn't the only conundrum Barrett must solve moving forward and the coach was frank in his post-game assessment.

"Our execution was poor, our discipline was poor, across the board it was poor," Barrett said.

"Given where we are on the table, we need to make some changes where we see fit. If [dropping Flanagan] is what's in the best interests of the team moving forward, that's what we'll do.

"We'll sit down and address that through the week."