Dragons set for jaunt through tropics

St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has placed high importance on gaining the two points this Sunday in his side's home game over Penrith, with the Red V set to embark on a three-week away trip through Queensland over the following rounds.

The Dragons are scheduled to meet Penrith this Sunday before jetsetting for Townsville in Round 5, then back to Brisbane in Round 6, before tackling the Titans at Robina in Round 7. The travel requirements don't stop there either - they return home in Round 8 for the ANZAC Day battle with the Roosters at Allianz Stadium - then head across the Tasman to face the Warriors before a week's break over the rep round.

"We knew the draw at the start of the season, so there's no excuses there", McGregor said.

"We head on the road for about ten days after this week. We looked at the double up at North Queensland and Brisbane. They're tough games, both the premiers and runners-up. But for us at at the moment, we have a really important game this week against a very capable Penrith side."

St George Illawarra's clash with Penrith takes place at Wollongong's WIN Stadium at 4:00pm on Sunday, where the red-and-white will face up against former star Trent Merrin for the first time since he departed the club in the off-season.