The St George Illawarra Dragons will be without veteran Blake Lawrie after a wild training mishap saw the prop and young gun Jacob Halangahu collide at training.
As a result, the Daily Telegraph is revealing Lawrie fractured his fibula and will be ruled out for four weeks, with the pair colliding heavily with each other on Monday.
The Dragons confirmed in their team line-up on Tuesday Lawrie will be missing, and Halangahu was promoted to the six-man bench after powerful form for the club in their NSW Cup side.
However, it is understood Halangahu will be given a solid chunk of Lawrie's minutes in their clash against the Canberra Raiders on Sunday.
The 19-year-old young gun is set to make his first appearance in the top grade since Round 10, and will be given an opportunity to showcase his talent against the Raiders' dominant pack.
Halangahu is one of the many elite young talents who progressed through the Dragons' pathways. He will join Toby and Ryan Couchman, Hamish Stewart and Dylan Egan to make up the Red V's young engine room, who are all marked for long careers in the NRL.
He was named Player of the Year in the Dragons SG Ball title win in 2024, taking home the man of the match honours in their Grand Final win.
Following two Under 19s NSW Blues appearances and Australian Schoolboys captaincy honours, Halangahu became a staple part of the Dragons NSW Cup side where he has been plying his trade until NRL opportunities surface.
He will make his fifth appearance of the year, as the Dragons look to build on a devastating loss to the Newcastle Knights last week in the Hunter.
The Dragons weathered an early storm from the Knights before fighting back into the contest, with one conversion being the difference between the two sides.
Despite a tough campaign in 2026 so far, the Red V will welcome Scott Drinkwater, Luke Metcalf, Keaon Koloamatangi, Connor Watson and Phillip Sami as recruits to rebuild their side from the bottom of the ladder.
