St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has named a 22-man squad for the Alex McKinnon Cup against the Newcastle Knights at UOW Jubilee Oval, Kogarah on Sunday, June 25.
The Dragons and Knights will play for the Alex McKinnon Cup for the third-consecutive season after the now 25-year-old's career was tragically cut short in 2014.
The Dragons have won both matches for the Cup so far, including their 30-18 win in Newcastle in Round 16, 2016.
McKinnon – who made his NRL debut at the Dragons in 2011 before moving to the Knights – was excited to return to UOW Jubilee Oval for the first time since his playing days.
"The Dragons have a lot of guys who were working there when I was still there so I’m pretty excited to go back and see them," McKinnon said.
"Going to Kogarah is something that I used to do all the time so it is unique that the [Alex McKinnon Cup] is in Kogarah this year."
Meanwhile, Josh Dugan has been named to return at fullback following State of Origin II, with Jason Nightingale shifting to the wing and Kalifa Faifai Loa dropping out of the squad.
NSW Origin forward Tyson Frizell has been named in the reserves alongside Euan Aitken (hamstring) who may make his potential return after a six-week layoff.
Prop Paul Vaughan will also celebrate his 100th NRL game against the Knights, while Jack de Belin's selection is dependent on how he fares at the NRL judiciary on Tuesday evening.
NRL Squad for Round 16 v Newcastle Knights
1. Josh Dugan
2. Nene Macdonald
3. Kurt Mann
4. Tim Lafai
5. Jason Nightingale
6. Gareth Widdop (c)
7. Josh McCrone
8. Russell Packer
9. Cameron McInnes
10. Paul Vaughan
11. Tariq Sims
12. Joel Thompson
13. Jack de Belin
Interchange:
14. Jacob Host
15. Leeson Ah Mau
16. Hame Sele
17. Taane Milne
18. Will Matthews
19. Tyson Frizell
20. Blake Lawrie
21. Euan Aitken
22. Matt Dufty
Players unavailable:
Drew Hutchison (knee) – indefinite
Kiti Glymin (shoulder) – indefinite
Levi Dodd (knee) – season
Siliva Havili (pectoral) – finals
