St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has named his mandatory 21-man squad for the Dragons' Round 9 clash against the Melbourne Storm at WIN Stadium, Wollongong on Sunday, April 30.
The Dragons will have to make do without skipper Gareth Widdop (knee) who suffered a medial injury and will miss at least the next six weeks.
Kurt Mann will slot into five-eighth from the bench, with Taane Milne returning to the utility role from the interchange.
The Dragons will also celebrate the 100th NRL game of back-rower Tyson Frizell ahead of his return to the Australian Test side in May. He will also captain the side in Widdop's absence.
The Emergency Services Cup will also be on the line in this top of the table clash against the Storm.
NRL Squad for Round 9 v Melbourne Storm:
1. Josh Dugan
2. Nene Macdonald
3. Euan Aitken
4. Tim Lafai
5. Jason Nightingale
6. Kurt Mann
7. Josh McCrone
8. Russell Packer
9. Cameron McInnes
10. Paul Vaughan
11. Tyson Frizell (c)
12. Joel Thompson
13. Jack de Belin
Interchange:
14. Tariq Sims
15. Leeson Ah Mau
16. Hame Sele
17. Taane Milne
18. Jai Field
19. Blake Lawrie
20. Luciano Leilua
21. Jacob Host
Players unavailable:
Gareth Widdop (knee) – Round 14
Drew Hutchison (knee) – season
Will Matthews (hip) – indefinite
Kiti Glymin (shoulder) – indefinite
Levi Dodd (knee) – season
