A mounting injury toll could see Dragons hard man Neville Costigan rushed into the line-up for Friday night's showdown with the Melbourne Storm-toppling Gold Coast.After undergoing a shoulder reconstruction in the off-season, Costigan hasn't played since St George Illawarra were knocked out of the NRL finals series last year.Coach Wayne Bennett was expected to allow Costigan to gain match fitness by playing in the NSW Cup competition with feeder team Shellharbour, but may be forced to select him in the team to take on the Titans.
Full coverage of the Dragons Prop Matt Prior (knee), second-rower Jeremy Smith (knee) and interchange forward Jarrod Saffy (ankle) will all have scans today to determine the extent of injuries sustained in the 34-16 victory over Brisbane at WIN Stadium.Prior and Smith are believed to have both damaged posterior cruciate ligaments and could be out for at least a month.Adding to the injury woes, prop Ricky Thorby hurt his neck in Shellharbour's loss to North Sydney on Saturday.It could see Nick Emmett or Beau Scott moved into the second row to cover Smith, or Costigan could be thrust straight into the team.Prior played just 26 minutes of Friday night's win over the Broncos, while Smith did not return in the second half.Young prop Trent Merrin is likely to be brought in for Prior, with Dan Hunt set to be named in the starting team, having regularly started despite being named on the bench.Recruited from Souths, front-rower Michael Greenfield is another in the running for a call-up.The Titans will be brimming with confidence after beating the Storm 20-16 in a hard-fought battle at Skilled Park on Friday night.Costigan played 22 games last year and came off the bench for Queensland in State of Origin game three last year.The Dragons already have star hooker Nathan Fien on the long-term injury list after breaking his ankle in the round one win over Parramatta.Winger Peni Tagive (knee) and Bronx Goodwin (broken arm) are also sidelined for extended periods.
