St George Illawarra fullback Matt Dufty has suffered an AC joint injury to his shoulder and has been ruled out the Dragons' upcoming clash against the Sharks on Friday, May 21 at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Kogarah.
There is no current timeframe on Dufty's return – he will be monitored over the coming weeks to determine a return-to-play date.
There is good news for Andrew McCullough however, who left the field late against the Storm. The Dragons hooker has been cleared of any facial fractures but will continue to be monitored throughout the week as a result of the knock suffered to his eye.
Meanwhile, St George Illawarra have taken the early guilty plea on all five charges levelled at four Dragons players by the NRL match review committee following Magic Round.
Tyrell Fuimaono – who was sent off 11 minutes into the game for his hit on Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen – will miss five weeks. Fuimaono was charged with a grade one reckless high tackle which was amplified by a similar and non-similar offence each over the last two years.
Josh McGuire will also miss five weeks after taking an early guilty plea on a grade three dangerous contact charge on Storm winger Josh Addo-Carr.
McGuire's four non-similar offence and one similar charge over the last two years as well as 47 carryover points has not helped his cause.
The dual Samoan and Australian international has also accepted a $2600 fine for a grade one careless high tackle on Storm centre Justin Olam.
Tariq Sims and Mikaele Ravalawa – who have also had their own respective offences in the last two years – will miss one and two weeks respectively.
Sims copped a grade two dangerous contact charge while Ravalawa was hit with his second shoulder charge offence in two games.
"It must be said that our players don't intentionally go out to hurt the opposition. Our players' integrity should not be questioned in this respect," Dragons general manager Ben Haran said.
"After a detailed review and seeking advice on each individual matter we have decided to take the early guilty plea on each charge; given also the different loading and prior offences of each player as well as the change the game is currently undergoing.
"We'll move on and look forward to seeing our wider squad step up against the Sharks this Friday night."
