Are the Dragons the team who can challenge Brisbane's stranglehold on the NRLW?

So much of the NRLW season is searching for a viable contender to challenge the Broncos, and one may have sprouted up from the many puddles that dotted the Wollongong Showground during the season's second round.

Heading into the season, Parramatta were the popular pick to be the biggest threat to Brisbane's dominance, but St George Illawarra's 10-0 upset win over the Eels was a statement of intent and an announcement that the Red V are serious contenders for the title.

There was so much talk all week about the halfback battle, with Rachael Pearson taking on Parramatta's Maddie Studdon after both produced star turns last week, but the monsoonal conditions put paid to any hope of a sparkling playmaking duel.

In a game played practically underwater, the Dragons got wild and wet and managed to out-hustle, out-muscle and outlast the Eels through a combination of team spirit and forward power.

«I said to the girls just now I think it's the best NRLW win they've ever had,» said Dragons coach Jamie Soward.

«I was really proud of how the girls adjusted and just tackled everything that moved. Sometimes you have to do that.»

Given the Red V were missing star prop Kezie Apps and backrower Talei Holmes it was a might effort against the Eels, with forwards Elsie Albert and debutant Aliti Namoce leading the way. Stand-in skipper Keeley Davis was another standout at lock and the side is clearly responding well to Soward's intensity and enthusiasm.

«I'm intense. But that's who I am, I'm not going to change. If I change and tried to act cool all the time I wouldn't have done this,» Soward said.

«The girls know me now. I'm intense, I'm emotional, I just want to win, and that competitive side of me comes out and sometimes it probably comes out a