From where I sat an ugly win, as Dragons Co-captain Matt Shanahan called it post game, sure looked pretty to me.

Townsville with their three point bombers in Rillie and Newley, amongst others, were on paper primed to have a big game against the South Dragons at Vodafone arena but a combination of great crowd support, impressive team defense and I would suspect a jaded Crocodiles outfit combined to give the Dragons another win. I suggest a jaded Crocs team as they came off possibly the biggest home and away win in their franchise history when they recovered from as many as 20 points down to beat the Adelaide 36ers. Despite the Crocs being tired down the stretch you can’t deny the Dragons as they simply outplayed their opponents from the opening tip until the final siren.

What a great spectacle the game was with the round coinciding with Remembrance Day. The occasion provided a stirring atmosphere with a rendition of Waltzing Matilda, the Last Post and the National Anthem pre-game where many of the 4,000 fans in attendance sang as one. There must have been many onlookers with goose bumps and a feeling of thanks for all that was sacrificed by so many before us. Sacrifice was certainly the theme on court as the South Dragons looked to contribute to the bigger picture of team success rather than individual glory. There were however a number of noteworthy performances which included the continued rebounding presence of Frank Drmic and the strong defensive effort on Croc John Rillie (led by Jacob Holmes in the first quarter) who scored over thirty against the 36er’s to be held to 13 points with 2:20 to play in the fourth by the Dragons.

It would appear from the outside that the Dragons made the right move in adjusting their coaching staff and tweaking their off court personal as the teams current and hard earned swagger is born of belief; a belief that asks each player to contribute the best of their strengths, whilst subverting their ego. At 4 and 7 the Dragons are on the rise.