THE Dragons suffered more Guinness PRO14 derby anguish when beaten by the Ospreys. Here are five things from the 22-9 defeat at a wet Rodney Parade.

1: Wet weather woes

Just like against Cardiff Blues on Boxing Day, torrential rain meant that a healthy crowd was not treated to much in the way of expansive rugby.

The Dragons want to play with width under Bernard Jackman and that is understandable given the lack of bulk in their side even when they do have Leon Brown, Ollie Griffiths and Harri Keddie fully fit.

Ross Moriarty and Richard Hibbard will add oomph next season but in the mean time the region has to find a way when the rain falls. Easier said than done.

Their driving lineout has gone well this season but didn’t quite fire against the Ospreys while they were just a little naïve at key moments.

It’s not a summer sport, sadly for the Dragons. An F1 car doesn’t go out in slicks in a monsoon.

2: Squad depth

The Dragons started the season with a thin squad and are currently having to cope with a crippling injury list.

Zane Kirchner, Hallam Amos, Tyler Morgan, Brok Harris, Brown, Griffiths, Keddie, Lewis Evans, Nic Cudd are all frontline players that are sidelined.

Of course every team suffers from such blows but the Dragons don’t have the depth to cope with such influential absentees, especially at this time of year.

The hectic schedule is testing them and tricky clashes with the Scarlets and Bordeaux-Begles are looming.

3: Character test passed

One thing the Dragons have never lacked is spirit and they didn’t fold against the Ospreys.

Things could have got ugly when they shipped a pair of early scores but they stayed in it, denying the west Walians a couple of times in their 22.

One never felt the Dragons were ever going to get their noses in front but when it was 15-9 in the early stages of the second half all it would have taken was a freak score.

Jackman’s side, who also battled back into in against Cardiff Blues from 22-3 down on Boxing Day, will need to show that sort of resilience in spades in Llanelli.

4: Promising prospects

Through the years we have consistently said that young Dragons talent will be better for the experience of being flung in, that the short-term pain will see long-term gain.

That should be the case with half-backs Dan Babos and Arwel Robson plus impressive flanker Aaron Wainwright.

Spikey teenage scrum-half Babos and lively fly-half will have learnt so much from facing Wales and Lions aces Rhys Webb and Dan Biggar. The duo did pretty well in tough conditions and look very promising.

Wainwright has been one of the success stories of a tough season after being flung in at the deep end because of back row injuries.

The workaholic blindside put in another big performance against a back row featuring Justin Tipuric, Olly Cracknell, Dan Lydiate then Rob McCusker.

5: Pressure on the medics

This schedule has stretched the Dragons to the limit and the management could desperately do with some bodies returning.

They were boosted by Carl Meyer and Sam Beard making their returns against the Ospreys and could do with Kirchner, Keddie and Lewis Evans coming back into the mix soon, although these things can't be rushed.

Hooker Elliot Dee went off for an HIA in the closing stages on Sunday while lock Cory Hill suffered an almighty bang in the build-up to the third try.

Getting through the Scarlets game unscathed is vital if the Dragons are to stand a chance of beating Bordeaux twice to sneak into the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.