Derby loss hurts

The Dragons sit in 13^th position after showing more resolve this year under their new coach and led for most of the match but never took control of the game, letting the Sharks roll over them.

With Shane Flanagan returning to Shark Park for the first time as opposition coach, the Dragons were up for the contest, leading 10-6 at half-time, however couldn't match the class of Cronulla and Flanagan said it was a self-inflicted loss.

"We were just awful. Never completed sets, never got to our kick and then when we did, we didn't nail them down in the corners," he said.

"Frustrating game from our perspective. Didn't give ourselves a chance because of the errors we made. You can't do that against a good-quality side. I thought we were in there for most of it, but some of the errors we made were self-inflicted."

St George Illawarra forward Tom Eisenhuth made an incredible 63 tackles with just two misses in his first game at second row for the Red V and Dragons centre Jack Bird celebrated his 150th NRL appearance with five tackle breaks, nine tackles and 83 metres.

The Dragons weren't able to come away with a win for Jack Bird's milestone match but he was still in a grateful mood after the game.

"We didn't start too well and gave away too many penalties - we just have to be better."

Talking about his 150 games he said it's been a tough journey.

"It's taken some time to get here. I've played first grade for 10 years, but I'm happy that I've finally got here.

"There's nothing better than playing at Shark park where it all started - and I'm just grateful to be back on the field," he said

Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said he thought it was a good contest.

"We expected that with the derby and the rivalry, they're just tough, hard games and I thought it was a really good game and a good win for us."

The Dragons now host the Rabbitohs at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Saturday afternoon which is a game that both sides need to win.