St George Illawarra coach Dean Young is backing young gun Hamish Stewart to emerge as a World Cup bolter after he fired the Dragons to a shock 24-16 victory over Cronulla.
Stewart soared above three Sharks defenders to reel in a bomb and score the Dragons' second try before laying one on for Tyrell Sloan with a midfield burst and classy offload as the wooden spoon-bound cellar dwellers dealt Cronulla a reality check on Sunday.
"Footy is a simple game sometimes and that was the kick in the arse we needed, to be honest," Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said after watching his fourth-placed side have a six-match winning streak shattered at Jubilee Stadium.
"We didn't work hard enough. They ran harder, they tackled harder. I just felt like we just smart-arsed our way through that game.
"It was more important to them today than us, and that hurts. That hurts the fabric of a man. Maybe it's time to wake up."
The Dragons certainly awoke from their slumber, with Stewart resembling a young Ben Creagh with his hard, direct running on the edges.
Apart from his try and try assist, the 21-year-old ran for 87 metres from 11 carries and racked up 41 tackles.
"He's a special talent and it wouldn't shock me if (Kangaroos coach) Kevvie Walters picks him in the Australian tour at the end of the year," Young said.
"He's that good. He's a bloke that can play edge back row and middle just as good with his skill set.
"He's got a big future and it's going to be at the Dragons."
Six points behind Brisbane in last place, the Dragons still look destined to land the joint venture club's first wooden spoon.
But skipper Clint Gutherson is urging his side to build on Sunday's stirring derby win in their remaining four games against non-top-eight teams Wests Tigers, Canterbury, Manly and Parramatta.
."We want to build into next year and we've got a really young squad and some quality coming next year," Gutherson said.
"We know the team we can be under Deano and the staff, and it started tonight. It's been going on the last couple of months."
