When Tariq Sims scored his Try of the Year contender last weekend against the Panthers, it was due reward for his building string of form.
Finding his feet back in the familiar role of back row over the past month, Sims produced his best game as a Dragon in the Red V's two-point win over the Penrith Panthers.
Dragons teammate Jason Nightingale wasn't surprised by Sims's showing – with his aforementioned try proving crucial with the club's season on the line.
"Tariq's try was outstanding," Nightingale said of Sims's effort, which included a one-on-one strip on Panther Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and a 40-metre dash to the line.
"You could just tell he was on. You could see it in his eyes.
"It wasn’t just that try. He was on for the whole game."
Nightingale said the critical win over Penrith offered the Dragons plenty of confidence heading into the Members Appreciation Round clash against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium.
With a win required for the Dragons if they are to play finals football, Nightingale said the team needs to build on last week's performance.
"We think if we can be a bit more clinical and improve in certain areas, we will put a good performance in," Nightingale said.
"It will allow us to build on last week and make sure we get further momentum heading into the finals."
Nightingale said that there won’t be any excuse for not coming away with the win this Sunday despite suffering a 16-12 loss to the Bulldogs earlier in the year.
"There will be no excuses from us as far as our opponents go," Nightingale said.
"That [performance against the Bulldogs] was probably an indication of where we were at that time of the season.
"We defended okay but we weren’t playing with the confidence like we usually do.
"The fact we couldn’t come through with the win was probably an example of where we were at."
