Gerringong Lions forward Hamish Stewart admits he had a bit of a mid-year lull in his rookie season but he is now back to his best as St George Illawarra try to qualify for an improbable NRL finals appearance.

Stewart turned in his best game for the Dragons in their upset win over competition leaders Canberra in wet and wild conditions in Wollongong last Saturday night.

St George Illawarra displayed tenacity in the heavy rain and strong winds to get the better of first-placed Canberra 18-12.

Stewart was everywhere in the second half as the home side repelled the Green Machine as he finished with 10 hit-ups for 85 metres and peeled off 20 tackles without missing any in the slippery conditions.

The 20-year-old lock has retained his place in an unchanged line-up to face traditional rivals Cronulla at Kogarah on Saturday.

“It’s gonna take another performance like that - respect the ball and play our style of footy. The Sharks are going to come flying at us. They’re running hot,” he said on Wednesday.

“We need to put in another smart performance, it’s gonna take a good one to beat them.”

A dry track is expected this time around and Stewart said even though the Sharks have pace to burn out wide, the Dragons were more than happy to experience better attacking conditions.

“They’ve got a very quick side but we like to move the footy as well so it will suit us,” he said.

“They’ve got over the top of us in the years prior. We know what’s at stake and we really want to get this one.”

After making his debut in Round 1, Stewart has played 17 matches, missing a trip to Canberra recently with a concussion.

“At the start of the season there’s not much expectation on you as a rookie but then after more and more games, you’re expected to do a bit. I probably struggled a few weeks ago to play some good footy,” he said.

“But I stuck at it and trained hard and the coaches have been working with me and I feel like I’ve strung a few good games together.”

The Dragons need to win their final five games to have any hope of sneaking into the top eight and Stewart said co-captains Clint Gutherson and Damien Cook were keeping spirits up as they try to pull off an unlikely late surge.

“This group of boys that we’ve got is always high on energy and belief,” Stewart added.

“Our two captains - Gutho and Cookie drive that. Hopefully this is a turning point and we can string a few games together at the back end of the year and push for finals.”

The Dragons’ NRLW side fell to the Eels 12-10 in their Magic Round clash at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

They will look to end their four-game losing streak when they tackle the Sharks at 12.45pm on Saturday before the NRL match at 3pm.