Veteran St George Illawarra centre Matt Cooper claims the Dragons’ Anzac Day Houdini act against Sydney Roosters has instilled belief within the club’s NRL squad.

The Dragons came from eight points down with four minutes remaining to beat the Roosters last Wednesday, Cooper admitting there was a spring in players’ steps at training as a result of the amazing win.

“The mood around training’s been really good – a win like that’s going to help us, especially when we’re down in the future,” Cooper said.

“We have got confidence that we can come back and win games like that.”

“It was good to be on that side of it – in the past we’ve had some losses (like that) … it was exciting to get a win like that.

“It’s up there with one of the best wins I’ve had.”

The Dragons were noted front-runners during their dominant years under former coach Wayne Bennett, but their late comeback showed they were also capable of chasing points on the scoreboard.

The win was somewhat of a bonus for Cooper, with the Roosters clash marking his return from injury in a disrupted campaign.

Cooper injured his ankle in the season-opening win and admits his return three weeks later may have been a little premature.

The Dragons had missed his attacking spark on the left edge, Cooper duly crossing the stripe in his return.

“When I came back against Manly, I re-injured the same ankle,” Cooper said.

“I probably came back too early … I should have had another week or two off and that set me back a bit.

“I was just excited to get back out there on Wednesday.

“The ankle was pretty good after the game.”

The fourth-placed Dragons play the Cowboys on Friday night in Townsville where they haven’t won since 2005.