"Two unwanted teams. Two coaches with their backs against the wall. Based on an inspirational true story, Steve Price and Anthony Griffin star in a story of redemption against the odds."

Alright, it's only round four. But it's the movies, so forgive the artistic licence. Anyway, it's not far off the mark if you smear a bit of vaseline on the lens.

Before the season started, the only questions about the Broncos and St George-Illawarra seemed to be which coach would be sacked the fastest and whose kitchen may provide the best home for a wooden spoon.

It was a sad state of affairs for two of the code's former big hitters. Both have trophy cabinets stuffed with premierships. But both were coming off their worst seasons in history. Neither seemed to have much scope for a bounce this year, especially when you saw how they performed in pre-season.

Three matches later, the Dragons are yet to lose. Gareth Widdop has been the buy of the early rounds. The Red V flags are fluttering on a second wind that's starting to blow a gale.

Brisbane have lost once – in the final minute to the current kings of October, the Roosters. Ironically, it was a better performance to their two impressive wins over the Bulldogs and Cowboys, both early top-eight fancies.

And for Price and Griffin, there is room to breathe. It's doubtful either man would say they feel relieved, given neither man says much at all. But strong early results would no doubt have lifted the weight off their shoulders.

The pace of the game under the new laws may hold the key. Both sides seem to have adapted to "small ball" quicker than many of their rivals, exploiting a fast tempo with mobile forwards, some with huge motors like Corey Parker, and nimble small men like Ben Barba and Adam Quinlan.

It hasn't been lost on Sam Thaiday, who feels Brisbane have been perfectly placed to exploit the quirks of the changes to the tackle laws, which have seen the ruck speed detonate over the early exchanges.

The Dragons, he said, have been able to do the same, with versatile and multiskilled forwards like Trent Merrin now worth their weight in gold.

"The game is faster, they have a smaller, more mobile pack just like us," Thaiday said.

"We have a couple of big fellas like Marty Kennedy and Josh McGuire but we’ve got a lot of smaller forwards who are great ball players. The Dragons are very similar I think."

Finding a statistical handle on why Brisbane and St George-Illawarra have thrived thus far isn't straightforward. The ability to create second-phase play might have been one clue, if both clubs weren't ranked 12th (Dragons) and 14th (Broncos) in total offloads.

Closer to the mark may be the number of runs from dummy-half, a by-product of a quicker play-the-ball and dominance through the middle of the field. No side has darted more times than the Dragons (83), with Brisbane also prolific (fifth, 60 runs).

Broncos fullback Ben Barba, who has started to warm up in his new jumper, has been threatening to take his game up a gear in recent weeks and loves the extra space afforded by the tiring legs of the lumbering forwards.

"Last week was a good example, where Ben Hunt played a very good game and really stood up at the back end of each half," Barba said.

"It’s a fast game, everyone is feeling the pain. But I’m enjoying it so if it stays this way, hopefully it will play in our favour."