There's no doubt in St George Illawarra captain Ben Hornby's mind that Friday night's NRL semi-final against Wests Tigers is do or die - he's seen it all before.

Despite a strong finish to the season which lifted last year's premiers to fifth on the ladder, Hornby knows there are no guarantees of a second bite at the cherry.

Not when the memory of 2004, when a Craig Gower field goal secured Penrith a 31-30 victory and was the difference between the Dragons advancing and an unexpected Mad Monday.

No fifth-placed team had ever been knocked out of the finals in week one - but when North Queensland sprung a monster upset by beating hot favourites Canterbury on the Saturday night, the Dragons realised they had unfortunately made history.

"We were watching it at home ... and (the Cowboys) got the victory (over the Bulldogs) and it was a pretty emotional time for us actually," Hornby told reporters at Monday's NRL captain's call.

"It was (pretty shattering). It was pretty hard to take at the time and it was pretty hard to take the next year too when you thought about it, it's not a situation (I want to see repeated)."

Which is exactly why Hornby and his Dragons won't be leaving anything to chance when they take on the in-form Tigers, who are chasing a club record ninth consecutive victory.

"You have to (think of it as an elimination final)," Hornby explained.

"I've been a part of a side that finished fifth and got knocked out. It's definitely a case of you've got to go there and win the games because that's what finals is about.

"It's about winning games. It's not about worrying about what other teams are doing. You've got to try and get your team in order and play as best as you can."

The Tigers and Dragons have enjoyed a healthy rivalry over the past decade, culminating in two pulsating preliminary finals in 2005 and 2010, when the winner of both games triumphed a week later to claim the premiership.

Hornby said the rivalry was simply a reflection of the respect felt between two of the competition's hottest teams.

"It has been pretty healthy, I think both sides like playing each other and I think both sides fancy themselves each time they play," he said.

"They've been really tight the last couple of years. I don't think there's been more than a couple of points in each of the games.

"I'm sure this Friday night will be no different and someone is going to come up with the big play at a big time."

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