A hat-trick to try-scoring freak Brett Morris has helped premiership favourites St George Illawarra to an emphatic 38-0 victory over a hapless Cronulla at WIN Stadium.
Morris crossed in the eighth, 59th and 75 minutes to take his season tally to 11 tries in another dominant display.
Having led 18-0 at the break, the Dragons added four unanswered tries in the second stanza to romp to a seven-tries-to-nil victory in front of 15,779 fans.
Full-back Darius Boyd had a hand in four of the Dragons' tries in a dominant display that would have caught the attention of Kangaroos selectors, while NSW hopeful Matt Cooper finished with a double.
A suspected medial ligament strain to centre Beau Scott was the only negative for the Dragons who confirmed their status as the team to beat in 2010.
It was a miserable home coming for former Saints stalwart Trent Barrett, who was powerless to stop the Dragons' juggernaut, while Paul Gallen played a lone hand for the Sharks finishing with 15 hit-ups and 33 tackles.
It was a dream start for the Sharks when Tim Smith found touch with the opening kick-off to give the visitors an attacking scrum.
But things quickly nightmarish as the Dragons ran in three tries in 19 minutes to opening up a commanding 16-0 lead.
Morris opened the hosts' account on the back of some slick passing from the Dragons' lethal left-side attack.
The prolific winger crossing untouched, with Jamie Soward adding the extras from out wide to open up a 6-0 lead after nine minutes.
Morris turned provider four minutes later when he delivered a brilliant one-arm offload to Matt Cooper who had looped around the outside of his winger to score in the corner.
Soward again made no mistake from the sideline for a 12-0 advantage.
Things got worse for the Sharks on 19 minutes when the in-form Boyd attracted two Cronulla defenders and delivered a perfect pass for Jason Nightingale to slide over an extended the lead to 16 points.
A bit of push and shove between Tim Smith and Beau Scott kept the sell-out crowd entertained as the contest developed into an arm wrestle.
A Soward penalty goal after the siren increased the lead to 18-0 at the break after a totally dominant opening stanza.
The Dragons opened up a match-winning lead four minutes in when Cooper bagged his double after a stunning 70m movement on the counter attack.
It all started with Boyd who collected a Smith kick on his own 30m line and headed across field before linking with Morris who found Cooper in space.
The NSW hopeful proved he still possesses ample speed, beating three Sharks defenders including young-gun Blake Ferguson to the line after receiving the ball inside his own half.
Soward's sideline conversion put the result beyond doubt at 24-0 with 34 minutes remaining.
The romp continued when Neville Costigan crossed in the 50th minute before Morris bagged his double on the hour to the delight of the frenzied home crowd.
St George Illawarra Dragons 38
Tries: Morris 3, Cooper 2, Nightingale, Costigan
Goals: Soward 5
b>Cronulla Sharks 0
@ WIN Stadium, 01/05/10. Crowd: 15,779.