For St George Illawarra fans, it was worth the wait.

They had to endure one of the longest games of the season due to a whopping 20 penalties before the Dragons finally sealed an NRL finals berth with a 28-10 win over the hapless New Zealand Warriors at WIN Stadium.

The six tries to two round 23 victory marked the first time the Dragons racked up two straight victories since round 16 in a welcome sign of consistency before the finals.

It also marked a marathon game thanks to the huge 12-8 penalty count to the hosts and video referee Chris Ward being called on seven times - in the first half alone.

The constant stoppages ensured the game did not finish until almost two hours after the kick-off.

But it was one of the few times referee Jason Robinson didn't refer to Ward that proved the most controversial with New Zealand winger Francis Meli awarded a 68th minute try despite replays showing his foot went into touch.

It mattered little to the end result as the Dragons (12-10 record) strolled to victory to seal a finals finish with the top four in their sights.

Asked if the top four was a realistic goal, Dragons coach Nathan Brown said: "Definitely but we've got to worry about Newcastle (next week) now.

"Hopefully if we keep winning (fourth placed) Penrith might lose one more and our (points) for and against is a lot better than theirs so...

"Now we are definitely in the eight with a bye up our sleeves. It's just a matter of us putting ourselves in a really good spot to give ourselves the best chance to challenge the top sides."

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