By Nathan Beuman
St George Illawarra captain Gareth Widdop has called for the Dragons' to move past last weekend's disappointing 21-14 loss to the Newcastle Knights.
Widdop says that the side can’t dwell on last week’s performance considering an important clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs beckons this Friday night at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
"We take responsibility for the loss. The game has been and gone," Widdop said.
"It’s disappointing as hell [the way we played] but we have to move on now.
"We've certainly reviewed where we need to be better and now it’s time to get back on the track and work hard on what we need to improve on."
Widdop remains confident that the team will play finals football.
The Dragons currently sit at eighth position on the NRL Telstra Premiership ladder, tied with the ninth-placed Penrith Panthers on 24 competition points.
"There are still five games to go and five games there that we can win," Widdop said.
"We just need to find some balance and play consistent football over the next five weeks because it's been two steps forward, one step back recently."
In order for the Dragons to re-visit their early season form – which saw the club start the season with six wins in their first seven games – the team will need to get back to basics, according to their skipper.
"[Our inconsistent form] comes down to the simple things – our completion rate was around 60 per cent against Newcastle which is very low," Widdop said.
"If you’re not completing high against any team, you’re not going to give yourself any chance of winning games."
