If NSW coach Brad Fittler has had his share of headaches this week, it's nothing compared to the one Dragons forward Tyson Frizell was left carrying after his side's 22-9 loss to Cronulla in Wollongong on Sunday.
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Paul McGregor will also be reaching for the Nurofen, with Tim Lafai and James Graham also leaving the field in the first half with ankle injuries and not returning amid an already heavy injury toll.
It left the Dragons with just one man on the interchange bench to start the second half with the Sharks running in three unanswered tries after trailing 9-8 at halftime.
Frizell was felled in a horror collision with Josh Dugan that left him out cold six minutes before the break. He ultimately left the park on his own feet without the aid of a stretcher, but headed straight into the sheds and didn't return.
Fittler, who was at WIN Stadium, named Frizell in his side and said post-match that he was confident the 27-year-old will be right for Origin I.
"I went down and talked to Friz at halftime and he wanted to go back on," Fittler said.
"He had that silly smile on his face, I don't know if he actually knew he was talking to me but he got cleared by the medical staff, obviously not to come back on, but I think he's OK.
"We'll just follow [concussion] protocol, I'm not sure when he can train but we'll work that out tonight."
It was the least of McGregor's worries, with Lafai and Graham both leaving the ground in moon boots accompanied by crutches.
It will see them join Gareth Widdop and Corey Norman in a star-studded injury ward with the round-13 bye a godsend for the club on the back of five straight losses.
"We lost Laf after 16 minutes, Tyson after 32 and James didn't come back on after halftime so we were only left with one there [on the bench]," McGregor said.
"We were forced to use five [interchanges] in that period because of the changes but that's footy. It's a bit of a MASH unit downstairs at the moment.
"It looks like James and Laf have done ankle injuries. I don't know the extent of them but if James doesn't come back on the field it's a bad one one would think.
"He's in a boot and Lafai's on crutches as well. We've got the bye next week so that helps."
The loss sees them drop to 13th on the ladder and with some soul-searching to do in a merciful fortnight before their round-14 clash with Canterbury.
"We know the situation we're in and I know where we can go to," McGregor said.
"Healthy bodies will help and time away the next couple of days will freshen a few people up. Korbin Sims had his first game back so he's going to be better for that gallop.
"[Jeremy] Latimore will be back after the break, Normy will be back. We'll need to get on the training park and get the fit players out there training but, right now everyone just needs a couple of days."
Matt Moylan proved the star for the Sharks in his return from injury, laying on two of young-gun Bronson Xerri's three tries in an otherwise forgettable match.
Jai Field opened the scoring with a fourth-minute penalty goal before Matt Moylan laid on the opening try for Bronson Xerri three minutes later.
Kyle Flanagan nailed the sideline conversion for a 6-2 lead. Ben Hunt looked certain to peg it back five minutes later only to spill the ball over the line.
A weight of possession finally told for the hosts when Cam McInnes barged over from close range for his side's first try nine minutes before halftime, with Field converting for an 8-6 lead.
Back to back errors from the Dragons opened the door for a Sharks equaliser with Sosaia Feki inexplicably catching the ball with his foot over the sideline with the try-line beckoning.
Flanagan did level-up with a penalty goal two minutes later from before Hunt grabbed the first field-goal of his career to take a one-point lead on the stroke of halftime.
Xerri grabbed his second try five minutes after the resumption after Kurt Capewell won the race to a well-weighted kick from Flanagan and found the youngster for the try.
Flanagan couldn't convert, keeping the margin at three with more than half an hour to play.
Xerri completed his hat-trick 14 minutes later off another assist from Moylan with the Dragons never looking like reeling in the seven-point deficit.
Blayke Brailey hammered the final nail in the coffin inside the final minute, winning the race to grubber from Flanagan in the Dragons in-goal.