The Dragons are on the cusp of playing finals football for the first time in six years and can all but clinch their spot when Shane Flanagan faces his old club next weekend.
St George Illawarra jumped back into the top eight with a 32-16 victory over the Titans on Sunday and they face Cronulla next weekend.
Flanagan – who guided the Sharks to their only premiership in 2016 – came out swinging when the sides met earlier in the season by declaring the Dragons would win at Shark Park.
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Cronulla won 20-10 back in Round 9 and Flanagan was coy when asked about the clubs’ upcoming clash next Sunday.
“I’m not sure who we’re playing next week,” Flanagan joked.
“Nah it’s a big game, the Sharks are trying to cement themselves in the top four and we want to cement ourselves in the top eight, it will be a great occasion.
“All I wanted from this group was to be in the hunt at the end of the year to play semi-finals and we’re there, so now destiny is in our own hands.”
Flanagan was asked if he believes his side are now mentally tough enough to win big games to cement their spot in finals.
“We showed some (mental toughness) today, we’ve shown it at different stages this season, we beat Melbourne in Melbourne and different games during the year we showed it, early on we beat the Warriors when they were flying,” he said.
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“We’ve had some good wins this season but today, with the conditions and what we did in the second half showed we’re getting mentally stronger.
“We had every reason to fold but we showed some real resilience to turn them away.”
Dragons skipper Ben Hunt, who just 12 months ago asked for a release from the club, said it was “exciting times” at the club.
“That was a massive win in the context of our season, we jumped into eighth spot and we played some really good footy in that first half but it was definitely the second half that impressed me,” he said.
“They threw a lot at us and it was a good sign we stood up and defended it.
“We’ve given ourselves a shot to play finals footy which is all you can ask for from where we came from last year so it’s up to us to go and get it.”
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