St George Illawarra Dragons second-rower Jaydn Su'A has likely played his final game for the joint-venture after suffering a suspected torn pectoral muscle on Sunday afternoon.
Su'A has had a horror run in recent weeks, being suspended after the Round 7 game against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, then suffering a different injury just days before he was due to return, having been named at centre.
He was finally fit enough to return on Sunday against the Cronulla Sharks, with the second-rower coming into the game after halftime and playing just 20 minutes before suffering the injury.
Interim coach Dean Young confirmed during his post-match press conference that things were not looking good for the representative-calibre star who will join the Parramatta Eels in 2027 after opting not to take up a new deal at the Red V.
“I don't think it's good. I just spoke to him then, and he thinks he might've torn it, so it's not ideal,” Young told reporters.
“We'll get scans in the next couple of days and get more info about it.”
A torn pectoral muscle will likely sideline Su'A for about 12 weeks. With the season already in Round 14, and the Dragons out of finals contention, he would only potentially be available for the final week or two.
At that stage, with an eye to next year and continuing to promote a youthful forward pack, led by Dylan Egan, Hamish Stewart, the Couchman brothers, Loko Pasifiki Tonga and Jacob Halangahu, the Dragons would be unlikely to pick Su'A.
If Su'A has played his last game as a Dragon, he will leave the club having played 79 matches since joining in 2022.
The Dragons, who claimed their first win of the season a week ago against the Brisbane Broncos, were sent back to the losing column on Sunday in the local derby against the Cronulla Sharks, with Young saying his side resembled the Dragons of old in the second half as they faded out from a halftime lead.
“It's disappointing. Everyone probably got to see what the new Dragons looked like and got a good look at what the old Dragons looked like. It was a game of two halves,” Young said post-match.
“We didn't hold onto the ball. We started the second half with a play-the-ball error, which is not good enough.
“Then we defended our line for three sets, held them out for about 16 tackles and then the next set we tried to offload the ball and come up with another error.
“That was really disappointing because the boys worked really, really hard to turn the Sharks away.
“They were a good attacking side and then the next time we get the ball we looked at forcing the offload.
“We completed 11 from 19 sets for the second half, and they're at 21 from 23. There's the game.”
