St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has named his mandatory 21-man squad ahead of the Dragons' Round 23 clash against the Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday, August 18.
Gareth Widdop's (shoulder) absence means Kurt Mann will step into the halves for the first time this season, with Jacob Host coming on to the bench as a result.
Cameron McInnes and Tyson Frizell will co-captain the Dragons with Widdop on the shelf.
- Gareth Widdop injury update
- Game day information: Round 23
- Dragons newswire
- Wests Tigers v Dragons: Round 23 preview
Jai Field and Darren Nicholls have also been named in the reserves for the Dragons as extra cover in the halves.
Lock Jack de Belin will also play his 150th NRL game against the Wests Tigers, putting him equal-10th (with Dan Hunt) on the St George Illawarra player appearances tally.
NRL squad for Round 23 v Wests Tigers:
1. Matt Dufty – sponsored by Illawarra Mercury/St George & Sutherland Shire Leader
2. Nene Macdonald – sponsored by Relativity in the Loop
3. Euan Aitken – sponsored by University of Wollongong
4. Tim Lafai – sponsored by Kingsgrove Sports Centre
5. Jordan Pereira – sponsored by SMAI
6. Kurt Mann – sponsored by Dynamic Projects
7. Ben Hunt– sponsored by Paul's Customs and Forwarding Solutions
8. James Graham – sponsored by EFEX
9. Cameron McInnes (c) – sponsored by Floormania
10. Leeson Ah Mau – sponsored by My Muscle Chef
11. Tyson Frizell (c) – sponsored by Val Morgan
12. Tariq Sims – sponsored by Stonemasons & Landscapers (since 1970)
13. Jack de Belin – sponsored by Wollongong Jetski
Interchange:
14. Jeremy Latimore – sponsored by Addbuild Additions
15. Jacob Host – sponsored by Wollongong Diagnostics
16. Blake Lawrie – sponsored by Westfund
17. Luciano Leilua – sponsored by Domus Lighting
18. Zac Lomax
19. Jai Field
20. Hame Sele
21. Darren Nicholls
