Packer suffered a hip injury, coming from the field in the sixth minute of the golden point loss to Canberra, but the long turnaround offers him hope of playing. 

The 27-year-old was named in a 21-man squad on Tuesday afternoon, while Frizell will play for the first time since the State of Origin loss. 

The Dragons have slumped to eighth on the NRL ladder and will be under threat from Penrith, as well as the Raiders, Warriors and Titans if they fall to the Sea Eagles in Wollongong. 

“I’d love to win the remainder of the year, every single game,” second-rower Tariq Sims said. “Footy’s a funny thing, you got through some ups and downs. We’ve got to make sure we stay committed to what we’ve been trying to achieve, dominating the middle of the park and putting games to bed when it counts.”

In contrast to the Dragons, Manly have won six of their past seven games and are now third on the NRL ladder, with seven rounds remaining.

“They’re playing some outstanding football, it’s entertaining,” Sims said. 

“It’s to (form) game plans against a team that’s throwing the ball around like they are. We’ve got a full week of training ahead of us and knuckle down out there.”

Round 20

Sunday (2pm)

DRAGONS v SEA EAGLES

WIN Stadium

TV: Live on Fox