St George Illawarra five-eighth Trent Barrett gave the term "one hit wonder" a whole new meaning as the Dragons ambushed NRL champions the Sydney Roosters 24-20.

Barrett received a hit two weeks ago by coach Nathan Brown in the now infamous "face slapping" incident, and the Dragons responded with a gutsy win over the Bulldogs last weekend.

But Barrett admitted the "one hit" to his face may have done wonders for his team's season.

"Maybe it (the face slap) has turned our season around. We have certainly come out the last two weeks with more passion," he said.

"But we can't go backwards from here. We can't get carried away."

Barrett hoped the gutsy victory would finally satisfy their hard marking fans.

"Some old bloke came up to me after that (Bulldogs win) and called us one hit wonders, and that's what everyone probably thought," he said.

But that may all change after Barrett guided an injury-riddled St George Illawarra to its second straight win after an early blitz by teammate Mark Riddell.

Barrett blew the score out to 24-8 at halftime with a magnificent chip and regather, capping off brilliant early work by hooker Riddell who set up an 18-0 lead after just 12 minutes.

The Dragons failed to score in the second half and just held on for victory but it was a memorable win from a team down and out just two weeks ago.

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