The South Sydney Rabbitohs are set to face a St George Illawarra Dragons team with a number of their stars in doubt after the Red V confirmed that star player Gareth Widdop is set to have surgery on his dislocated shoulder, ruling him out of the week 2 finals blockbuster.
Despite a big win over the Broncos the Red V came out of the 80-minutes battered and wounded as a number of key stars had early showers.
The number one concern for the Dragons is the fitness of five-eighth Gareth Widdop, who after returning from a dislocated shoulder on Sunday, looks set to miss out on this weekend's crunch clash after re-dislocating his same shoulder.
Dragons Head of Athletic Performance Nathan Pickworth spoke after the game on Widdop's condition and confirmed the damage that had been done.
"Gareth did his shoulder, unfortunately, it popped back out when he tried to make a tackle and it's taken us a while to get it back in, which is unfortunate," said Pickworth.
"It just couldn't take the 80 minutes, now that it is out he'll have some follow up scans and more than likely he'll be going for surgery as soon as possible."
Another key player who aggravated a preexisting injury was lock forward Jack De Bellin.
The State of Origin representative is set to spend some more time in a moon boot and on crutches following Sunday's game where he left the field with an on going foot injury.
However, the Dragons' performance staff believe a return to the field could be quicker than first thought.
"The moment he had out there might not be as bad as we think," said Pickworth.
"He'll go into the boot and crutches and rest up and we will see how he progresses this week but he's certainly a chance for next week."
To cap off a gruelling contest, England international forward James Graham also left the field with a concussion.
The hard-working Graham will now have to go through the necessary procedures before taking to the field against the Red and Green on Saturday.
