Dragons halves face scans after costly lost
Scott Bailey |
St George Illawarra will sweat on scans of ankle injuries to Daniel Atkinson and Kyle Flanagan, after both their halves played through pain in the loss to Melbourne.
In a brutal double scare for the Dragons, Atkinson and Flanagan were both hurt within a minute of each other before halftime on Saturday night.
Both injuries also came in similar ways, copping the brunt of a tackler on the back of their legs in contact deemed not to be of hip-drop nature.
The pair were both assessed at halftime and played out the 46-20 capitulation to the Storm, but are expected to undergo scans.
“Both have got bad ankles, they’ll have to probably both have scans,” coach Shane Flanagan said.
“They weren’t hip-drops, but the weight did land on the lower legs, so it’s a bit of a scare.-
“Both got treatment at halftime and got their ankles strapped, but they are two tough young men and knew it was important we didn’t lose a half.”
If the Dragons were to lose one of the pair for next week’s clash with Parramatta, playmaker Lykhan King-Togia went unused on their bench on Saturday night and would likely come in.
For all the concerns about the Dragons’ attack going into this season, that was hardly their biggest issue on Saturday night as the hosts leapt out to a 20-18 lead.
Atkinson offered plenty of good signs in his second game in the No.7, including the pass of the night with a spiral cut-out ball for Valentine Holmes to score his first.
The halfback also sent Holmes over for a second try, with the pair working up a nice combination with the centre running a nice line to hit a gap and go over.
But Flanagan made no secret of his frustration at the way the Dragons threw any advantage away, completing just two sets in the final 20 minutes as Melbourne ran in five tries.
“Offence isn’t our problem. It’s the other end, holding the ball and defending,” the coach said.
“Storm didn’t do a lot. There was some individual brilliance by the fullback. It was what we did to ourselves.”
AAP