It's been the week from hell for St George Illawarra NRL coach Nathan Brown - and it ended with another slap across the face.

Only this time it was captain Trent Barrett planting it on his coach, and it was in celebration.

The Dragons, whipping boys for most of the week, dished out their own plate of redemption on the Bulldogs at Telstra Stadium, beating the National Rugby League favourites 24-14 in a performance full of guts and commitment.

Brown, who was in the news for most of the week after slapping Barrett across the face during last Sunday's loss to Manly, described it as a "huge turnaround".

Barrett, who scored a try after the siren to seal the victory, celebrated by giving his coach three taps across the face as the Dragons put on the type of performance their fans have been craving all season.

"Trent slapped me in the face three times when he came in the shed," Brown said.

"It was a huge turnaround. It's got nothing to do with me. It's the 17 players.

"It was just great. Trent off his own bat on Tuesday sat all the guys down. He said 'I'm over it now, let's have a good year in footy'.

"I knew he was over it but you don't know if the team is over it until they get on the field."

Brown revealed the players made a pact before the game to make up for last weekend's embarrassing outing at WIN Stadium, a performance which had the club under fire from all quarters.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP