Resurgent St George Illawarra secured their fourth successive NRL win on Sunday in a 31-6 smashing of Canterbury at ANZ Stadium, while Melbourne Storm beat Canberra Raiders by four points in the capital.

The Dragons stumbled their way through the opening two rounds of 2015, but have since emerged as genuine finals contenders over the past month on the back of their stout defence, which was key to the win over the Dogs.

However the victory was not without controversy, Dragons back-rower Tyson Frizell lucky to stay on the field for a high tackle that knocked out Dogs forward Tim Browne in the 50th minute.

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Browne did not return to the field, after the game stopped for eight minutes as he was put on a stretcher and taken off in a medicab.

The Bulldogs were camped in the Dragons half for most of the opening 10 minutes but couldn’t crack the stoic defence of the joint venture.

The Dragons continued to repel the Bulldogs throughout the first half and were again rewarded for their efforts when Peter Mata’utia crossed out wide in the 34th minute courtesy of a beautiful long ball from Benji Marshall.

They built on that lead four minutes later when Marshall put a rampaging Frizell over and the Dragons led 18-0 at the break.

Joel Thompson speared his way over in the 57th minute, before Marshall slotted a 67th minute field goal that all but sealed the win.

Euan Aitken did just that when the rookie scored his first NRL try in the 71st minute.

Meantime in Canberra, the Raiders were up 10-2 midway through Sunday’s clash in pouring rain at GIO Stadium, but let through two quick tries early in the second half to go down 14-10.

It marked three losses from three matches at home in 2015 – a new record for the venue.

Dale Finucane of the Storm looks to off load a pass against the Raiders. Photo: Getty

To add to the Raiders woes, hooker Josh Hodgson (leg) and lock Shaun Fensom (ankle) could face lengthy stints on the sidelines after both were taken off injured in the second half.

The Raiders were the first to score through Jeremy Hawkins, who was awarded a try in the 25th minute after a magical put-down just millimetres inside the line on the Storm’s right edge.

A successful conversion and late penalty goal gave them a 10-2 lead into the break.

But the visitors came back firing with two tries in four minutes – first through Mahe Fonua on the back of some clever passing, then via Cameron Munster after a lengthy play and rushed cross-field kick.

It was only Munster’s second game in first-grade, having been brought in to replace injured No.1 Billy Slater.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy praised the 20-year-old for handling the pressure, and the rest of his side for their patience after a “flat” opening half and a late Raiders resurgence in which they almost scored with minutes to go.

“We found a spark in the second half – and we had to,” he said.

“The Raiders were very committed and they played a really controlled game of footy today.

“I was really pleased with what our blokes did to change it around sometimes it’s not that easy.

“But they did, and I was real proud of what they did.”

Bellamy paid tribute to Raiders veteran Dane Tilse, who celebrated his 200th NRL match and final appearance at home before he heads to play in the English Super League.