We're ready - Trent Barrett

As the pressure intensifies on St George Illawarra, senior Dragons players are confident a lack of fitness won't be a factor in Saturday night's preliminary final against Wests Tigers.

While the Tigers have not had a week off since their mid-July bye and are on a roll after two stunning finals performances, the Dragons go into the sudden-death showdown at Aussie Stadium having played only average football in their only two matches over the past month.

Skipper Trent Barrett and experienced back-rower Lance Thompson admit the Dragons need to pick up their form that was shown in a six-point win over Cronulla in the qualifying final if they are to bring down the Tigers.

But both Barrett and Thompson deny the Dragons will be underdone, believing the break has been a blessing, allowing key forwards Ben Creagh (knee) and Jason Ryles (back and hamstring) valuable time to recover from injury.

"It's a mental thing. We've come through byes before and we've won," Barrett said.

"It's given our players a chance to freshen up, too. We had a couple of niggling injuries to key players who we really need to play and they're going to be fine so, in that regard, it's good.

"That's the card we've been dealt. We've just got to deal with it the best we can.

"Obviously, they (the Tigers) are going to have a lot of confidence. But we're just going to have to wait and see. It's going to be a great game."

Barrett and lock Shaun Timmins missed St George Illawarra's round 16 loss to the Tigers and Thompson said having last weekend off had ensured the Dragons would be at full strength for the eagerly-awaited rematch.

"The rest has been great," Thompson said.

"We going to get Ben Creagh back and Jason Ryles, who are 100 per cent fit, so probably the week off couldn't of come at a better time.

"We've done a lot of fitness sessions. Our training has probably been the best it's been all year. So we've prepared well and in our head we're feeling strong.

"Obviously with a full team on deck and everyone playing well, we've got to be a chance."

Impact forward Michael Ennis said coach Nathan Brown had prepared his team sufficiently to ensure fitness wouldn't be an issue for the Dragons.

"I think it (the break) was a help. We played 26 rounds. That's a lot of footy this year," Ennis said.

"We went into camp and we had a bit of a relax. While we trained, we trained intense and Brownie made sure we realised what sort of job we've got ahead of us.

"It definitely wasn't a holiday. The only thing we missed out on last week was a game, and we've played 24 of them this year (plus a final) and our other senior blokes have played a lot of Origin footy, so they haven't missed out on anything.

"And us young blokes are not going to get much fitter than what we are at this point of the season.

"It's more so a mental thing and we'll need to be mentally right on Saturday night. I think Brownie will make sure we're like that."

After holding down premiership favouritism for more than a month, the Dragons drifted further out in the betting today behind Parramatta following a rush of interest for the underdog Tigers.