THROUGHOUT their 2021 NSWRL open men's country championships campaign, the Illawarra South Coast Dragons have shown plenty of resiliency.
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They firstly rebounded from a disappointing opening-round loss against Riverina to smash North Coast by 42 points and book their spot in the finals.
Then in Sunday's semi-final, Wade Forrester's side jumped out to a 12-nil lead, thanks to tries to Tyson Simpson, Justin Jones and Chanse Perham, before finding themselves behind 16-12 with just over 10 minutes remaining.
But courageous defence and a barnstorming run by Dylan Farrell secured the Dragons spot in the big dance.
"The boys showed plenty of character to fight back and get a result against Riverina," Forrester said.
"The most pleasing part is how they kept turning up for each other defensively, especially on the line of scrimmage.
"In saying that, there are still areas we need to improve on, such as ball-handling (the Dragons had eight first-half turnovers last game) - which is just not acceptable at this level.
"Most of those errors are basic ones too, from loose carries or players trying to force an unnecessary pass.
"We've all had a look at the video to highlight those and everyone knows we need to be better across the board against Monaro."
The Dragons, who won the 2019 under 23s country title, will now take on the Monaro Colts, spearheaded by 139-game NRL veteran Terry Campese.
"Monaro has won every game they've played for a reason and are a very talented outfit," Forrester said.
"They've got a massive pack and two very talented halves in Terry Campese and Tre Holton-Williams, who direct them around the park brilliantly.
"The battle in the forwards will be key and I'm confident our pack is up to the challenge.
"But we know anything less than our best, both in attack and defence, won't be good enough.
"It's up to us to keep hold of the ball, dominate field position and make them defend more often than us - if we do that, it'll go a long way to winning."
The only change Forrester's side has made ahead of this Saturday's decider is bringing in Gerringong's Hamish Holland for Albion Park-Oak Flats' Paul Roberts.
Park forward Tom Warner, who Forrester has been 'outstanding' since joining the side, is under an injury cloud and will be given every chance to line up in the decider.
If the Dragons do win on Saturday, Forrester admits it will be one of the top moments of his coaching career to date.
"Anytime you get a chance to win a competition, just like we did at under 23s level in 2019, it's a special thrill and Saturday will be no different," he said.
"All the boys know they have a massive chance to put South Coast rugby league on the map and prove why it's one of the top footy regions in the state.
"It's been a real honour coaching this group of men and I've loved every part of the journey to date.
"The way the boys have turned their campaign around from that disappointing start is incredible but the job isn't done yet.
"I know they are capable of winning and in my opinion, they deserve nothing more than lifting the trophy come Saturday afternoon."
The match kicks off at 2.30pm.
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