St George Illawarra Dragons coach Anthony Griffin has confirmed Jayden Sullivan will miss Saturday's Round 5 clash against the Dolphins at Wollongong's WIN Stadium.
The under fire coach will lead his team into the game against the Dolphins on the back of last week's thumping at the hands of the Cronulla Sharks minus Sullivan, who has been one of the best for the red and white so far this year.
In his place, Talatau Amone will come into the side.
Sullivan has suffered a shoulder injury, but it's believed he will be fit again next week, while Amone has played NSW Cup in recent weeks after being cleared of the NRL's no-fault stand-down policy over an off-field incident during the off-season.
"He's not going to play and Junior will come in," Griffin told the media on Friday morning.
"He has hurt his shoulder at training on Wednesday. It's not a major thing, but it's a little bit too quick for this week."
Griffin said Amone is ready to play.
"He has had three games [in NSW Cup] and he is building his fitness and form down there. He gets his chance tomorrow which will be good," Griffin said on Amone.
"The stuff he had to deal with was out of our control and he is still dealing with that, but he is available to play and he is really looking forward to playing obviously, so hopefully he does the job. I'm sure he will."
The Dragons' coach also told the media that Jack de Belin will play off the bench, provided he makes it through Friday's training session.
The veteran forward was originally ruled out of only the Dragons' first game of the year, but his return has been pushed back as he battles to recover from a calf injury.
"We think we will use him tomorrow. He has to get through training [on Friday] being transparent," Griffin revealed.
"We would have liked to use him last week but we are just being really careful with him."
The Dragons, who have won just one game so far this season, will face the competition surprise packet at WIN Stadium, with kick-off set for 5:30pm (AEDT) on Saturday evening.
“he is available to play and he is really looking forward to playing obviously, so hopefully he does the job. I’m sure he will.”
One thing I have learned over the years is that when someone says “I’m sure…” what they actually mean is “I’ve no idea, but I hope to God that…”
He is certainly short on tools compared to Sullivan, but dangerous near the try line and an excellent defender. The fastest man in the league over five metres, and the slowest over ten or more.