St George Illawarra highlighted the gulf in class between NRL premiership contenders and the also rans after shutting out a sorry Cronulla outfit 38-0 at WIN Stadium on Saturday night.

It looked like a case of damage control from the outset for the boys from the Sutherland Shire as they slumped to their tenth straight away loss, while the Dragons continued on their merry crusade at the head of the ladder.

The Dragons' potent left side attack toyed with their outclassed opposition, Brett Morris registering his second hat-trick of the season and Matt Cooper finishing with a double in the seven tries to nil rout.

While Morris is certain to hold onto his Test jumper when the Australian side is announced on Sunday, Cooper's brace - on the back of two tries against the Sydney Roosters last week - was a timely reminder to NSW selectors that his best days are not behind him.

Morris continued his stunning strike rate of coming up with the opening try after starting the rot in just the eighth minute, and what followed was a procession as the red and whites continually carved holes in the Sharks defence, Darius Boyd continuing his rich vein of form with a hand in four of the home side's tries.

To compound the embarrassment for the visitors was the ground announcer's insistence on highlighting their futility, with the updated score continually ending with the phrase "and the Sharks yet to score".

Cronulla are without a win in Wollongong in 21 years.

After going over untouched for the opening points, Morris turned provider with a clever around the corner ball for Cooper's first, and when the Dragons went the other way for Jason Nightingale to score the Dragons were racing the clock at 16-0 after 19 minutes.

Cronulla managed to hold on until just before halftime when a Paul Gallen penalty allowed Jamie Soward to take it out to three converted tries, the Dragons failing to let up after the restart with Cooper finishing off a movement which started deep inside the home side's territory.

What was already embarrassing became laughable when Neville Costigan brushed through a batch of defenders who didn't look like they wanted to be there.

Morris completed his hat-trick with another two four-pointers over the closing stages.

Dragons coach Wayne Bennett said he was ecstatic with where his side was at after eight rounds but he cast a wary eye over his side's upcoming schedule, with representative commitments set to ravage his side.

"I'm one to encourage them (playing representative games) but you take a bit of pain with it unfortunately," Bennett said.

"We leave here tonight 7-1, the next two months is an absolute turmoil for us.

"We're going to have players in Queensland teams, NSW teams, Country teams, Australian teams ... the next two months the balls are in the air, who knows what we'll produce.

"That's why the start of the season's so important - you've just got to get this part underway and get some confidence knowing the next two months is pretty much out of your control."

The next two months must seem like eternity for Sharks coach Ricky Stuart as he searches for a combination capable of staying with other sides in the competition.

"I've got about five or six blokes I really feel for ... when you've got players that aren't playing up to first grade standard it's not helping players like Gall (Paul Gallen) and Snow (Kade Snowden) and Trent (Barrett)," Stuart said.

"Their fullback, two centres and two wingers - they outclassed our players in those same jumpers.

"They were just so dominant, they're playing against kids."

It wasn't all good news for the Dragons with centre Beau Scott ruled out for 4-6 weeks with a medial ligament strain in his right knee.

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