Anthony Griffin was delighted with the way his Dragons side performed in the win over the Warriors in round one and says there is even more to come from his players.
The Dragons are priced at 28/1 to win the NRL Grand Final this season and got the 2022 campaign off to a great start with a 28-16 win.
Brave fightback
The Red V got off to a great start but let it slip with the Warriors leading 16-14 early in the second half.
But unlike the 2021 season, the Dragons had what it takes to fight their way back with winger Mikaele Ravalawa bagging a hat-trick.
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"Last year is last year, it is a different group," Griffin told reporters after the game. "It feels different. They haven't played a lot of footy together and you saw that in patches (on Saturday).
"It will take us a while to get into a real groove but I was just really happy with the way we knuckled down once we got behind."
Sloan shines
Teenage fullback Tyrell Sloan also put in an impressive performance with Griffin having plenty of praise for him. Playmaker Ben Hunt was also impressed.
"The nicest thing for me is that he kept getting himself in the right position," Hunt said. "As a spine we have a couple of young fellas (including 19-year-old halves partner Talatau Amone) in there so we have to keep developing and keep getting better."
Despite the impressive win, Hunt also said it would be wrong to get ahead of themselves after just one game.
"I am excited but we still have a lot to work on," Hunt added. "There are a lot new faces in the team and a lot of things have changed so we need to keep getting better.
"We switched off (against Warriors). We need to tidy that up and keep improving."
