Matt Cooper's troublesome hamstring will deny him a start tonight, but it is captain Ben Hornby literally causing last-minute headaches as the Dragons prepare for the NRL season opener with Parramatta.
Hornby missed yesterday's final training run in Wollongong because of a severe wisdom tooth infection and remains in doubt to lead the team out against the Eels.
Full coverage of the Dragons In his place, former New Zealand halfback Nathan Fien controlled the ball-work session, while Matt Prior - named at prop - has moved to the centres to cover Cooper.
Stand-in skipper Dean Young was confident Hornby would overcome the discomfort to take his place at Parramatta Stadium.
"They're pretty painful, so he couldn't join us today," Young said at the end of the session.
"But I'm sure he'll be right for the game.
"(Fien is) the New Zealand halfback, so he's pretty comfortable in that position and Luke Priddis is a handy hooker to fill in that spot.
"But Benny Hornby is a pretty tough character so I'm sure he'll be right to go."
Hornby is on a strong course of antibiotics and has been battling soreness and headaches throughout the week.
Prior trained at left centre in place of Cooper yesterday, with Priddis and centre Nick Emmett both on standby to shift on to the bench. It has been a frustrating preseason for Cooper, who battled a heel injury for much of last season.
The 30-year-old is optimistic of playing next week against the Bulldogs, but may not be fit until round three against North Queensland at WIN Stadium.
Coach Wayne Bennett has included some forward muscle on the Dragons interchange - Jon Green, Jarrod Saffy, Dan Hunt and Trent Merrin - to counteract the powerful Parramatta front-row combination of Nathan Cayless, Fuifui Moimoi and ex-St George Illawarra star Justin Poore.
"We've got some versatile players," Young said.
"I can play dummy-half, Matt Prior can play a number of positions, Beau Scott plays in the forwards or the backs, so that allows us to have four big boppers on the bench."
Young said the Dragons had to find another gear this season, having won last year's minor premiership before suffering finals losses against the Eels and Brisbane to bow out of the title race.
"We didn't buy too many signings, but (Bennett) sees a lot improvement in all the players that are here.
"That's what we're looking to do - we can't think we can go out and do what we did last year, because that's not going to work.
"Every side is going to be better, so we've got to be better and we're looking to improve our attack and we're also looking to improve our defence."
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