Brett Morris is all but certain to miss St George Illawarra's clash with Souths on Monday night after courageously playing more than 60 minutes with a dislocated shoulder in a State of Origin epic.
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The NSW winger said his shoulder popped out and then back into place in the act of scoring the first of two Blues tries - and still managed to deny a rampaging Darius Boyd with game one on the line at the death.
His brother Josh (posterior cruciate ligament), Trent Hodkinson (fractured nose) and Anthony Watmough (bicep) were among the other walking wounded for NSW on Wednesday night. Kiama junior Josh Morris didn't finish the match in which NSW held on to win 12-8 in front of a sell out at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
Morris admitted the thought of possibly forcing utility Luke Lewis to the wing was enough to ensure he gritted his teeth and played through the pain in his shoulder. He dislocated the same shoulder early in his career.
"It popped in and out and I was in a fair bit of pain, but I got through the half and got it needled," he said.
"You just don't want to let the boys down. We have a very strong belief in this side we can beat Queensland. We don't carry wingers on the bench so I knew I had to stay out there. The adrenaline gets you through, but it's very sore now."
Morris will be sent for scans on Thursday, but admitted he would be a near certain casualty for Paul McGregor's first game in charge of the Dragons.
His opposite number Darius Boyd crossed either side of the break, but Morris came up with the big play when his former St George Illawarra teammate seemed all but certain to set up a match-winning conversion.
"I was a little bit filthy on myself as Darius got a few tries, but I got him in the corner there and we finished it off," Morris said. "You just have to put your body on the line and the second try he scored he got on the outside and I wasn't going to let him do that again.
"It was a great way to finish the game and they threw pretty much everything at us. To repel them on their home ground is pretty special."