Sailor ended a two-year rugby union ban for cocaine use and was unveiled as the Dragons' star recruit in Wollongong yesterday.

A day after St George Illawarra's season slumped further into the mire with a 19-18 loss to Parramatta at ANZ Stadium, the 33-year-old signed on until the end of 2009.

Brown declared he needed to be patient with Sailor's progress in the Jim Beam Cup with feeder club the Shellharbour Marlins and would not put a date on a likely return.

"I don't think anybody knows - it might take six weeks, eight weeks, two weeks," he said.

Full story in Tuesday's Mercury