Gareth Widdop will never shirk responsibility, but his fingers are crossed halves partner Benji Marshall can remain on the paddock for the remainder of St George Illawarra's 2015 campaign.

Marshall has battled a hamstring problem in recent weeks since sustaining the injury against the Warriors in round 22.

He missed the following round's loss to Brisbane and returned to take on Penrith last week, but produced a mixed bag in one of the most unattractive games of the season to date.

The 30-year-old halfback hobbled to the bench late in the piece. Coach Paul McGregor later denied it was the hamstring issue.

Through it all Widdop has been a shining light for the Dragons - easily best on ground during the scrappy 19-12 victory over Panthers.

He is happy to shoulder the bulk of the workload while Marshall recovers, but says the team needs the Kiwi international fully fit heading into NRL finals.

"Obviously he's a key part of this team and when he goes down we're short a halfback," Widdop said of Marshall.

"We need him on the field."

Marshall missed the club's round-18 game through injury and the Dragons lost 28-8 to Cronulla.

Rookie halfback Drew Hutchison was thrown into the playmaking role in his NRL debut that day to cover Marshall.

Against the Broncos, however, McGregor opted to start prop Jack de Belin at halfback and left Hutchison sitting on the bench for the majority of the game.

The Red V subsequently lost 32-6 to Brisbane - their worst defeat of the year.

McGregor was criticised for his decision to leave Hutchison - a specialist half - out while de Belin acted as a makeshift playmaker.

Widdop, however, says he will continue to back McGregor's decisions

He also confirmed the coach hadn't consulted with either he or Marshall before the de Belin call.

"Coaches make these decisions, and at the time he thought Jack was the best option defensively and that's the way it went," Widdop said.

"As players we have to adapt to that.

"Jack's never really played there before, so it was obviously going to be difficult for him.

"[McGregor] had in his head what he thought was best for the team and as players we back whatever he decides on."

Marshall is expected to be on the plane to Queensland later this week to be at Cbus Super Stadium on Sunday to help his Dragons take on the Titans.

Gold Coast scored an upset 28-12 victory over Canberra at the weekend, and Widdop knows the Dragons can't afford to take the opposition lightly.

"I suppose any of those teams that are struggling to make the eight, or can't make the eight, you never know what they are going to toss up," he said.

"First and foremost we need to make sure we perform well."