3 minute read

St George Illawarra are yet to fill the holes left by Issac Luke and James Graham in their roster as injuries make NRL clubs hesitant to release players.

The NRL's injury carnage is hurting St George Illawarra's hopes of bolstering their roster while still searching for replacements for James Graham and Issac Luke.

The Dragons released both players last month with the plan of replacing them in their top 30 with mid-season transfers from other clubs.

But the NRL's high injury drama in recent weeks, combined with the reality of 18 weeks of uninterrupted football, is not helping their approaches to managers.

Several fringe players at rival clubs have now been drafted into 17s, while teams are concerned about the need for rotation and back up.

"It is a situation where a lot of players, if you look at the injury toll over the weekend across the NRL," Dragons coach Paul McGregor said.

"It has put a little bit full stop in a lot of areas where it is hard to recruit for this season right now.

"Because of clubs not willing to free up players because of the 18 games straight.

"We are only seven games into it and there has been a high spate of injuries over the weekend.

"Ian (Millward) is working hard in that space, he is working hard to fill two spots in our roster for this year and beyond."

Beyond this season, the Dragons must also find a high-profile replacement for Tyson Frizell in their back row.

The club has made an offer to wantaway Raider John Bateman, but it's not understood to be in the same range of money offered by Canterbury.

Bateman could also still be headed back to England, with Wigan one of the top contenders.

They were also linked to North Queensland middle John Asiata this week.

"I don't know John (Bateman) well. I know he is a quality player and has family back home," McGregor said.

"Wigan have obviously come forward and want to take him home.

"It just comes down to a personal decision and what kind of money he can earn in both countries.

"They're both quality players and certainly we have room going forward in our salary cap with players leaving.

"However, I'm just looking to do what we can for this year."

Meanwhile McGregor said he expected Ben Hunt to continue to improve out of dummy-half, with Adam Clune at halfback.

The big-name playmaker remained on the bench against Canberra on Friday, for the fourth week straight.

"The more time Ben gets at No.9, the more hardened he is for the position going forward," McGregor said.

"The combination at the moment is working well and it's building.

"Ben is a big part of that, he plays 50-plus minutes in rotation with the combination of the five-man spine."