Beleaguered St George Illawarra coach Steve Price concedes his side has lost the ability to win NRL games after the joint venture side established a new club record losing streak.

The Dragons 26-22 loss on Monday to Parramatta, the only club below them on the ladder, was the latest in a series of crushing blows for the proud club.

It was a sixth straight defeat and their ninth in their last ten games.

“We’re in a tough spot at the moment, we’re in a bit of a flat spot,” Price said.

“We’ve lost our way to winning at the moment. It is hard to take at he moment.

“We just can’t put it together for the full term.’

With an extensive injury list including NSW Origin stars Josh Dugan and Trent Merrin, Price has been forced to blood youngsters prematurely.

Despite the wretched results, Price is adamant it is a case of short term pain for long term gain.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys that have been thrust into first grade who most probably weren’t quite ready at that time,” Price said.

“But they are going to reap dividends down the track, especially next year.

“But we’re learning a valuable lesson at the moment. It is hard.

Captain Ben Creagh identified a depressingly familiar theme after the Dragons surrendered a 12-0 lead on Monday.

“It was just disappointing how we finished off the first half and I know we fought back there in the second half, but it was too late,” forward Creagh said.

“There have been a lot of games this season that have been very similar to that, and a lot of the same things keep popping up.

“Whether it’s ill-discipline or things that are just hurting us during the game and we’re not responding well enough to that.”

Creagh even admitted the Dragons were guilty of the cardinal sin of taking their foot of the pedal following their blistering start.

“I’d like to say ‘no we didn’t,’ but we must have because they came back,” Creagh said.