With five-straight losses to their name by a combined margin of just 13 points, the 2023 Dragons have attached their name to an unwanted piece of history.
Not since the 1927 Premiership season – which saw Balmain lose five on the trot by a combined margin of 11 points – has team been so close on the scoreboard through a five-match winless run.
Remarkably, Balmain lost five-straight games by a combined margin of 13 points the prior season as well.
Since their last win back in Round 5 this year, the Dragons have only one loss by more than two points, and they head into Saturday's clash against the Cowboys having lost consecutive games by the margin of 18-16.
Rugby league historian David Middleton said you can look to a mix of bad luck and poor decisions on the field when explaining the stat, with the Dragons' recent run part of what has been a Telstra Premiership season full of close scorelines.
"They are a team that is close but just can't get the job done. The numbers suggest they have been unlucky, but if you've been watching them for the last few weeks there are a few shortcomings there too," Middleton said.
"I've pondered the close games myself in recent times. It was only this time last year we were talking about how many blowouts there had been.
"I think you can say a lot of the teams who might have struggled with new rules are more accustomed to them now... but whatever it is, I am enjoying it."
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The Dragons face a tough ask to break their drought this weekend too, with the club having won only four times in 15 trips to Townsville, while in their past three encounters the Cowboys have won by a combined scoreline of 103-46.
They will be boosted, however, by the presence of captain Ben Hunt who becomes the 47th player to appear in 300 NRL games since making his debut for the Broncos back in 2009. Hunt played 187 games in total for Brisbane between 2009 and 2017, before chalking up another 112 games so far for the Dragons across six seasons.
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the official annual of the NRL.