Buoyed by a confidence building win over Manly, St George Illawarra young gun Jaydn Su'A knows a win over form team North Queensland Cowboys will show the Dragons' serious intent to play finals football.
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The 24-year-old second-rower scored a try the last time the Dragons played the Cowboys but was on the wrong end of a 31-12 scoreline.
Su'A remembers the game well but believes St George Illawarra have improved since then and are ready to cause a boilover at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Sunday.
Though he conceded the team will need to win the forwards battle, match the Cowboys intensity and find a way to stop their game-breakers to have any chance of winning and keeping their finals' hopes alive.
"It is going to be tough. They're second [on ladder] for a reason," Su'A said. "But I think we are capable of beating them.
"The [Manly] win was a step in the right direction at this time of the year and we're really looking forward to hopefully getting one up on the Cowboys this weekend.
"To do this we need to match their ruck speed and ruck [defence].
"They have obviously got a lot of quality middles, a few Origin players too and big Jase [Jason Taumalolo] there too so obviously we've got to take it personal and if we want to play finals, we've got to win as many games as we can."
The second-placed Cowboys (28 points) head into Sunday's game having won five of their last six outings, including a controversial last-start 28-27 victory over Wests Tigers.
Su'A said this good run of form showed the Cowboys had game-breakers throughout the side.
"Personally I'm looking forward to playing such a good team. How good would it be if we could show up and show the competition that we are really serious about making the finals?
"They have strike power all over the park. That is something that makes them very dangerous.
"We know they have got game breakers, so just really meeting them at the start of the game and matching their intensity at the start will go a long way in trying to win that game."
This view was shared by Dragons' big man Francis Molo, who reiterated the importance for St George Illawarra to build on their win over Manly and perform well against North Queensland.
"The plan is to hopefully get a win over the Cowboys," he said.
"It was a good performance against Manly but it is vital we continue playing well. We just need to focus on doing well week in, week out and hope that's good enough to get us in the finals."
Injured fullback Cody Ramsey will miss the game, with Moses Mbye to shift from centre to play No 1 against the Cowboys. Jayden Sullivan is also out injured, with Jack Bird to play centre and Tyrell Sloan named to start from the bench
St George Illawarra hooker Andrew McCullough said he felt for Ramsey. "Cody has been playing really well, he has really made that fullback position his own," he said.
"While we will miss his energy it is important we concentrate on playing well and winning every game. First and foremost for our own team's confidence and reward for a lot of hard work throughout the year."
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
