NEWPORT Gwent Dragons' front eight may not quite be in a position to make Toulon, Clermont, Leicester or Northampton break into a cold sweat but they've made great strides.

It's been an up and mainly down season so far but at least there are signs of the Rodney Parade finding a style.

In the days of Jason Forster they had a snarling manner then there was a period when the likes of Martyn Thomas and Will Harries made up for a lack of grunt by chancing their arm in a loose game.

Recent seasons have led to plenty of us saying that the team could really go places if they had a platform, 'sign a tighthead and lock and it will give the runners a chance'.

Well, there are signs that things are coming together.

If I was to rate the Dragons' season so far it'd be a 4/10 but if I was to rate the efforts of the pack it'd be 7/10 and it's pertinent to remember where they have been in recent years.

Supporters had to watch scrums through their fingers while if the opposition claimed their lineout ball they would usually drive 20 metres.

Think back to when Connacht headed to Rodney Parade last March; they mangled the Dragons up front on their way to a bonus point with three of their tries from the driving lineout and the other from a scrum.

But, touch wood, that is no longer a problem and now they are the ones with the belief that they will take it to their opponents.

Against the Ospreys last Sunday they turned down shots at goal in the first half to attempt to barge their way over and the decisions nearly paid off with one efforts stopped inches short and another cunning play harshly pinged by referee Dudley Phillips.

Captain Rynard Landman said after the 22-11 defeat to the Guinness Pro12 leaders: "Nobody gave us a chance but we felt we had the better lineout, scrum and driving game."

That confidence comes from them going toe-to-toe with some pretty strong packs and having the better of the exchanges.

Lock Landman and tighthead Brok Harris have made a big impact while loosehead Boris Stankovich made a super start to the season.

Andrew Coombs has got back to his best form and it's easy to forget that Elliot Dee, who is knocking on Wales boss Warren Gatland's door, is just 20.

The back row is strong with James Thomas, Nic Cudd and Lewis Evans all having strong season alongside Wales and Lions ace Taulupe Faletau.

The Scarlets have the best pack in Wales at the moment but the Dragons, previously a soft touch up front, have made big improvements.

They could still do with some additions up front – there is always room for strong-running back rowers while another imposing lock and prop would be nice – but primarily the Dragons need game controllers.

They have a pack with the potential to do damage if put in the right areas of the pitch and backs with potential to shine if guided in the right manner.

It all starts up front and the Dragons have shown they can build a platform, now they need to learn how to use it.

"WE murdered 'em, we flipping murdered 'em," said England coach David Lloyd angrily after the drawn game against Zimbabwe when the scores were level in Bulawayo.

For a few years Newport Gwent Dragons shared those sentiments after falling short on their visit to the capital on Boxing Day, 2012.

They hammered Cardiff Blues on their own patch only to lose 12-10 in awful conditions with fly-half Lewis Robling's late drop goal in the mud never threatening the posts.

The Dragons coaches and players often referred back to the time that they hammered their rivals only to lose.

It's been similar over recent months with the Dragons talking of how they had the better of Newcastle in October's European Rugby Challenge Cup encounter at Rodney Parade.

Director of rugby Lyn Jones said they "stuffed them" and captain Rynard Landman said they "dominated" yet the Falcons won 30-26.

Getting over the line is all that counts at Kingston Park on Saturday.