St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has finalised his 17 ahead of the Dragons' Round 4 clash against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Bankwest Stadium on Monday, June 8.
Tyrell Fuimaono and Jacob Host join Matt Dufty and Jackson Ford as the players to drop out of Tuesday’s initial 21-man squad.
In a lesson in perseverance, 24-year-old local Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles junior Adam Clune will make his NRL debut at halfback.
Clune's maiden first grade game, having been attached with the Dragons since 2011 upon representing the Illawarra Steelers in the Harold Matthews, will coincide with his 100th senior game for the Red V (45 games for Under-20s, 54 games for Canterbury Cup NSW).
Soon to be Dragons player #233, Clune's inclusion sees Corey Norman shift to fullback at the expense of Matt Dufty, while Josh Kerr has been named to start in the front row for the first time.
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Dufty is joined in the reserves by Tyrell Fuimaono, while Korbin Sims drops out of the 21 altogether. Veteran duo Trent Merrin and Issac Luke are the new faces included on the interchange.
Ben Hunt – in his first game at five-eighth since 2013 – will play his 50th game for the Dragons.
NRL squad for Round 4 v Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs:
1. Corey Norman – sponsored by Kingsgrove Sports Centre
2. Jordan Pereira – sponsored by Wollongong Jetski
3. Brayden Wiliame – sponsored by Nutrition Station
4. Zac Lomax – sponsored by Floormania
5. Mikaele Ravalawa – sponsored by TripADeal
6. Ben Hunt – sponsored by Paul's Customs and Forwarding Solutions
7. Adam Clune – sponsored by Baytek Construction
8. Josh Kerr – sponsored by Professionals Padstow
9. Cameron McInnes (c) – sponsored by Dincel Construction System
10. Paul Vaughan – sponsored by Fox Property
11. Tyson Frizell – sponsored by Modus Projects
12. Tariq Sims – sponsored by Stonemasons & Landscapers (since 1970)
13. James Graham – sponsored by EFEX
Interchange:
14. Trent Merrin – sponsored by Dynamic Projects
15. Blake Lawrie – sponsored by SMAI
16. Issac Luke – sponsored by CMG Audio Visual
17. Euan Aitken – sponsored by University of Wollongong
