BY CURTIS WOODWARD

Are the St George Illawarra Dragons on the verge of a legitimate rise to the upper echelon of the National Rugby League? That is the question on the lips of long-suffering Saints fans across the country.

Supporters have been starved of real success since the Wayne Bennett era.

Now it seems coach Paul McGregor has turned the tide.

Not since 2010 and 2011 have the Dragons gone 4-1 to start a season and we all know what the Dragons did back then.

In 2010, Bennett’s Dragons won the grand final by defeating the Sydney Roosters. It was their first title since 1979 and a maiden premiership for the merged entity. The following season they again went 4-1 only to fall in Week Two of the playoffs, 13-12 to the Brisbane Broncos, in one of the great semi-finals at Suncorp Stadium.

From there they fell off the map.

Missed the finals in 2012 (3-2), 14th in 2013 (2-3), 11th in 2014 (3-2).

In 2015 they returned to the finals only to be bundled out in Week One by Canterbury-Bankstown (3-2).

Last year was another season of frustration and jersey burning as they ran 11th after starting the year 2-3.

Next for the @NRL_Dragons – Saturday afternoon for #NRLManlyDragons:https://t.co/zDyymUMBVM#NRL pic.twitter.com/YK5kgOrGId

— NRL (@NRL) April 2, 2017

Yet here we are. Five rounds into the new campaign and the Dragons are flying with a 4-1 record and sitting just behind competition leaders Melbourne Storm on the ladder. And just like 2010, St George Illawarra have the best points differential in all the land.

There are other similarities.

Both their 2010 team and this version boast a superstar fullback, a solid half, a goalkicking five-eigth, tradesmen hookers and workaholic forwards.

In fact, scratch that. On paper, this forward pack is far more impressive than the one that helped clinch the trophy seven years ago. Who would you take to start in your front row between Neville Costigan and Michael Weyman or Russell Packer and Paul Vaughan? The backrow is a tougher one. In 2010, they had Beau Scott, Ben Creagh and Jeremy Smith locking their scrum. Now it’s Tyson Frizell, Joel Thompson and Jack de Belin. The 2010 grand final bench was Nathan Fien, Trent Merrin, Matt Prior and Jarrod Saffy. Last weekend against Wests Tigers they had Tariq Sims, Leeson Ah Mau, Jacob Host and Taane Milne.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6XSflYD5B8

It’s hard to knock a squad of 17 men that won a grand final but the great thing about this current side is that they also have plenty of time to improve too.

The bookmakers surprisingly have the Dragons as rank outsiders against Manly paying $2.60 for a fifth win in six rounds this Saturday. Yes the game is being played at Brookvale but since 1999, the Dragons hold a 15-9 record against the Sea Eagles.

These are two of the form sides of the competition but if the Dragons can beat Manly in their own backyard – do they earn anymore respect from the experts? Probably not. If they lose, they lose but it’s how they play that will set themselves up for next week and the week after. Win or lose in round six, the Dragons need to keep fighting.

We will know more about this Dragons side by the end of round 10.

After Manly they play North Queensland, Sydney Roosters, Melbourne and Cronulla again.

They have to fight for every metre.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

Practice.

@woodward_curtis