Dragons wing Rio Dyer insists Dragons need to take pride in their jersey and produce ahead of a huge derby clash with Cardiff Rugby at Rodney Parade on Friday night (kick-off 7.35pm).
Both teams will be looking to finish their United Rugby Championship campaign strong with just two games left of the regular season.
The last three league fixtures between the sides have been decided by a total of four points - including a tight 31-29 victory for Cardiff at the Arms Park this season.
Dyer is excited at the prospect of another great game against the Blue and Blacks but is hopeful the players can give the fans something to cheer and reward their support this season.
“Cardiff are a good team, strong defensively and the last few games between us have been close one-point games so hopefully Friday will be another good one and this time we can take the win,” said the Newport born speedster.
“It’s a derby game at home at Rodney Parade so the emotions will be there. We just need to come prepared, be physical, build pressure on them and not give Cardiff easy ins into the game.
“There are two games left to play and we can’t take our foot off the gas and think this season is finished. It’s about taking pride in our jersey, finishing strong and building ready for next season.
“We want to put in two good performances at home to try and reward the fans for their support this year, hopefully we can do that starting against Cardiff on Friday.”
Dragons suffered a 50-31 derby defeat to the Ospreys at the Swansea.com Stadium on Sunday despite securing a try bonus point.
The Men of Gwent had taken an early 24-8 lead but ill-discipline allowed Ospreys to claw their way back into the game before half time and run away with the victory in the second half.
Dyer insists the players need to hold themselves accountable and improve ahead of their final two games of the season if they want to come away with victories.
He said: “You can see from the first 20 minutes that we can be a good team and can see what we are capable of when we keep the ball and not give possession away, we can get on top of teams.
“But for the fans and for us it's disappointing because we want to give back to them with the support they give to us.”
The 23-year-old continued: “We need to understand that to be one of the best teams we need to maintain pressure on sides and not give away silly penalties allowing them little ins into the game.
“A few of us need to hold ourselves accountable with the discipline, including myself, because we give them that opportunity to enter our 22 and pressure us in a part of the game that’s their strongpoint and they took advantage of that.”
We want to put in two good performances at home to try and reward the fans for their support this year, hopefully we can do that starting against Cardiff on Friday...
