It has provided the backdrop for so many Dragons triumphs and on Sunday the Sydney Cricket Ground was again the venue as the red and whites rediscovered the ruthless streak that has them NRL title favourites.

While it was hardly a performance to have premiership rivals quaking in their boots, the 19-12 win over the red-hot Sydney Roosters left St George Illawarra with one hand on the JJ Giltinan Shield and confirmed that the joint venture wasn't about to throw away another bright start to a season.

The Dragons returned to their relentless high-octane approach in grinding the Roosters into the dirt after winning just one of four games prior to Sunday.

"We're not playing that bad - we weren't in a slump or anything like that," coach Wayne Bennett said.

"We were just somewhere not at our best but not that bad either and we're playing quality teams and it could have gone that way here today it was that close - there's not much in this competition.

"There's no big picture for us - we just had to come here today, with a good crowd and a big atmosphere ... and aim up and we did that, so we move on."

Questions remain over the Dragons' ability to put points on the board but, with a defence that rarely concedes more than two tries a game, the need for big totals is negated.

Still, man of the match Ben Creagh admits the attack has been an area of concern, not just in this campaign but also the manner in which they petered out of last year's finals series without firing a shot.

"We knew that we couldn't play the same type of attack from round one to round 26 - you've got to mix it up a bit, teams start to figure out what's going on and who's getting the ball and what plays you're going to put on," Creagh said.

"We haven't been panicking, we haven't had a crisis or anything like that.

"(And) we're not trying to use today and say it's all perfect - we're trying new things and we're working on new things every week."

So too are the Roosters, who admitted the Dragons' wall was nothing like they had encountered over the five-match winning streak that propelled them into third spot on the ladder.

That run provided breathing space for slip-ups like Sunday's but there is plenty of thought that the Roosters may have learned more about their premiership credentials in losing than in any win they've had in 2010.

"I said to the guys just now it was never going to be a turning point in our season if we won it and I certainly hope it's not a turning point now that we've lost it," Roosters coach Brian Smith said.

"A little bit will depend on how we react to it."

Victory left the Dragons four points clear at the head of the ladder and on track for consecutive minor premierships, though it is a gap Penrith can halve with a win over Canberra on Monday night.

For the remaining sides it is a lottery with two points separating the Panthers in second from the eighth-placed Warriors, with the depleted South Sydney lurking two points further back.

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