St George Illawarra Dragons NRL head coach Shane Flanagan has finalised his squad to face the Gold Coast Titans at Cbus Super Stadium in Round 1.
Final Team: No changes from the 24-hour update with Jesse Marschke named as the replacement player.
Blake Lawrie will be given another week to recover from a rib cartilage injury. As a result, Jack de Belin shifts to prop and Tom Eisenhuth to lock. Raymond Faitala-Mariner starts on an edge and Ben Murdoch-Masila comes into the 17 on the bench.
Viliami Fifita has been named to make his NRL debut off the interchange whilst newcomers Kyle Flanagan, Tom Eisenhuth, and Raymond Faitala-Mariner have been named to make their club debuts.
Fellow recruits Hame Sele (hamstring) and Luciano Leilua (suspension) are unavailable for the side's season opener.
Tyrell Sloan again occupies the fullback spot with Zac Lomax and Mikaele Ravalawa his wingers.
Flanagan partners skipper Ben Hunt in the halves whilst Jacob Liddle (hamstring) has been named to start.
DRAGONS ROUND 1 NRL TEAM LIST
1. Tyrell Sloan – sponsored by EFEX
2. Zac Lomax – sponsored by Floormania
3. Moses Suli – sponsored by Kingsgrove Sports Centre
4. Jack Bird – sponsored by Aspec Masonry
5. Mikaele Ravalawa – sponsored by Wollongong City Jetski
6. Kyle Flanagan – sponsored by React Facility Solutions
7. Ben Hunt (c) – sponsored by TripADeal
8. Francis Molo – sponsored by UTECH
9. Jacob Liddle – sponsored by Active Forklifts
13. Jack de Belin – sponsored by Deicorp
17. Raymond Faitala-Mariner – sponsored by Squadron Energy
12. Jaydn Su’A – sponsored by Shire Steel
11. Tom Eisenhuth – sponsored by CHiQ
Interchange
14. Connor Muhleisen – sponsored by Classic Sportswear
15. Michael Molo – sponsored by Konnect
16. Viliami Fifita – sponsored by Professionals Padstow
18. Ben Murdoch-Masila – sponsored by HWLE
Replacement Player
20. Jesse Marschke
CASUALTY WARD
- Blake Lawrie (ribs, Round 2)
- Hame Sele (hamstring, Round 2)
- Luciano Leilua (suspension, Round 2)
- Paul Turner (pectoral, early rounds)
- Corey Allan (ACL, season)
