Anthony Griffin has declared St George Illawarra honoured the Anzac Day spirit after his batted and bruised side held on to stun the Sydney Roosters 14-12.
On a brutal afternoon at the SCG, the Dragons were forced to hold their line for the majority of the second half with just two on the bench after Jack Bird suffered a suspected broken arm and Jaydn Su'A a leg injury.
Moses Suli will also require scans on his ankle after battling through the closing stanzas, in a game the Dragons would have dropped at the end of last year.
But Ben Hunt stood up superbly in the club's best win under Griffin, while Zac Lomax also pulled off two crucial second-half plays.
"We honoured the theme of the day with the way we played," Griffin said.
"We had every reason to lose that game in the last 20 minutes, but we refused to lose.
"They got what they deserved in the end. They just hung in really tight when we needed to."
Most impressive was the fact they backed their defence to hold on, after previously conceding the most points in the first six rounds.
After leading 14-0 at halftime, the Dragons made a clear decision to take the conservative option in attack and regularly handed it over on their last without a kick.
They then held on resolutely in defence, letting the Roosters in just twice despite having to hold out for several sets.
And while the Roosters struggled to trouble them in the first half, they put themselves back in the game at 14-12 with 10 minutes to play through tries to Sitili Tupouniua and James Tedesco.
Then it was Hunt who stood up as captain, earning the Ashton Collier Spirit of Anzac Medal.
In the dying minutes he took a crucial run out of dummy-half, as the Dragons battled to get out of their own 20-metre zone.
Two plays later he booted a 40-20, finally giving the Saints field position for the first time in more than 20 minutes.
And just when it looked as if the Roosters could steal it in the final minute when Daniel Tupou broke down the left touch down, the Dragons skipper batted down his pass and saved the day.
"It's definitely up there (as our best) as a club," Hunt said.
"I said we're going to win this on our defence ... And that's what happened in the end."
Hunt had earlier been influential in both of the Dragons' tries, putting Francis Molo between Tupouniua and Siosiua Taukeiaho for his team's first.
He also put up a kick for the Dragons' second, helping Su'A go over after Paul Momirovski spilled it under pressure from Lomax.
After snapping the Dragons' four-match losing streak with a field goal against Newcastle last Sunday, Lomax also grabbed a crucial second-half intercept and dragged Luke Keary out with six minutes to play.
Ultimately it meant a late first-half penalty goal was enough for the Dragons to hold on, as the Roosters lamented their inability to take their chances in the first half.
"We had a lot of opportunities; we created enough field position," coach Trent Robinson said.
"You need to convert that field position into execution of plays to score those tries."
