It ended a run of four straight defeats and marked an incredible turnaround in defensive attitude, following last round's 38-0 humiliation by Penrith and another week of club officials fending off questions about Hasler's re-signing earlier this year.

The Bulldogs refused to buckle at ANZ Stadium in front of 24,083 hearty fans, repelling the competition's most dangerous attacking team after 13 rounds in a performance that might just have saved their ailing season.

And they had to do it without five-eighth Josh Reynolds who was ruled out before kick-off having not quite recovered from the hamstring injury suffered in the Bulldogs's last win back in April.

Hasler simplified things after the Penrith loss, taking his players out for a few quiet beers on Monday to clear their heads and escape the week-to-week grind of footy.

It was a good, old-fashioned bonding session, and it worked. His side came out with fire in their bellies and produced a superb 80-minute performance, coming over the top of the Dragons with three second-half tries to notch just their sixth win of the season.

St George Illawarra were not poor by any means and played their part in the defensive struggle, but could not find a way through the determined blue and white wall.

And the visitors' afternoon ended on a sour note when Taane Milne was sin-binned with three minutes on the clock for throwing a punch at Josh Morris.

It took the Bulldogs 53 minutes to finally force their way over the Dragons line, with Josh Morris benefiting from a last-tackle scramble that ended up in the hands of a flying Will Hopoate.

That was their first try in 187 minutes of football, since Brenko Lee's first-half four pointer against Cronulla in round 12 and it somewhat opened the floodgates.

Fifteen minutes later Michael Lichaa went over from dummy half close to the line, and it was all too easy against a Dragons' defensive line that had been solid to that point.

Hasler wouldn't have relaxed though until Marcelo Montoya iced the cake late on in the right corner. He and his players can now look forward to the bye and a week off, with new life breathed into their season.

The platform for Monday's win was laid in a frantic first half. Canterbury started like a team possessed dominating the opening 10 minutes with more than 80 per cent of the ball.

But St George Illawarra was up to the task and absorbed all the Bulldogs had before carving their own toehold into the game.

Hasler would've been tearing out his carefully manicured hair on nine minutes when Canterbury swung the ball wide only for Brett Morris to spill a pass from brother Josh with the line begging.

That was the best chance in a high-quality first half where both sides refused to bend in defence.

Gareth Widdop knocked over a penalty goal on 32 minutes to give the Dragons a narrow lead. The returning Chase Stanley was adjudged to have knocked winger Jason Nightingale off his line when he was chasing a kick.

Minutes later Nightingale was brought down inches short of the line when he looked set to score as the Dragons started pressing for more points.

Jack De Belin was then held up over the line before Josh Dugan came close after a desperate ball inside from Nene MacDonald as he was being dragged over the sideline, but it was all to no avail.

Canterbury came close once more late in the half but Montoya's desperation in the right corner fell just short as the Dragons' cover defence carted him over the sideline in the nick of time.

This was good old-fashioned rugby league with neither side willing to give an inch in defence - the Bulldogs desperate to arrest a four-game losing streak and St George Illawarra looking to prove they're a genuine premiership contender.

The scoreboard read 2-0 at half-time. Just last month Liverpool scored more than that in the first half when banging in three goals against Sydney FC.