RUGBY LEAGUE
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Benji Marshall returns as the white knight St George Illawarra needs to assure the club a finals berth.
The Kiwi halfback is back in the line-up as the Dragons take on Penrith at WIN Stadium on Thursday night, desperate to cement their place in the top eight.
But the future of the Red V's No7 jumper is far from certain.
In fact, the halves combination beyond 2016 is as clear as mud.
The 30-year-old Marshall is off contract next year, and five-eighth Gareth Widdop is contracted to the end of 2017.
But Widdop was forced to deny rumours earlier this season he was trying to leave Wollongong to head home to England, and a cloud hangs over his future.
And then there's rookie playmaker Drew Hutchison.
Hutchison was being touted as the next big thing at the Dragons, having captained NSW's under-20 team this year and earned selection in the Junior Kangaroos.
But coach Paul McGregor left the 20-year-old sitting on the pine as prop Jack de Belin acted as makeshift halfback against Brisbane last Friday at Suncorp Stadium.
The Dragons lost 32-6 to the Broncos and McGregor copped his share of criticism for the de Belin decision.
Club recruitment boss Peter Mulholland confirmed last week he had his eye on talented Bulldogs half Moses Mbye.
Mbye is said to be commanding a salary in excess of $700,000 as a handful of clubs tussle over his signature.
McGregor refused to shed light on the Mbye situation when questioned on Wednesday.
"Talk to my recruitment guys, I don't know much about that one," McGregor said.
McGregor also defended his decision to leave Hutchison on the bench last week as the Broncos ran in 32 unanswered points.
It wasn't until Hutchison was put on the field late in the game that the Red V managed to score their sole try.
"I'm OK with my decision, the club is OK with it, and certainly the team is," McGregor said.
"It's the decision that I made, along with the coaching staff.
"To put a kid into that environment, in front of 35,000 people, with another inexperienced player on the field, I don't think I did the wrong thing.
"As head coach that's the position we're in, we're there for people to make comment on.
"And that's fine."
De Belin should be able to return to his favoured position in the forward pack for Thursday night's clash with Penrith.
Marshall made it through the captain's run on Wednesday without incident and is expected to pull on the No7 in front of a Wollongong home crowd.
McGregor will check in with his star halfback first thing Thursday morning to confirm his fitness.
"When you've got a back or a hamstring it's the next morning that can usually give you a bit of grief," McGregor said.
"He got through well, he completed the full session and ran at top speed.
"I haven't looked at his GPS yet but, from the eye, he looks really good."