Tristan Sailor has been named on the bench for Thursday night's crucial clash with South Sydney, with injuries forcing McGregor into a reshuffle.

Adam Clune and Trent Merrin are unavailable due to concussions, with Ben Hunt returning to halfback, Cameron McInnes named at hooker and Jackson Ford at lock.

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The Dragons welcome back Tariq Sims and Jordan Pereira from suspension, with Tyrell Fuimaono shifting to the bench and Jason Saab dropping out of the 17.

Sailor impressed in three games last season and many fans have been clamouring for the son of former dual international Wendell Sailor to receive an opportunity in a challenging year for the Dragons.

That shot will come this weekend and McInnes is confident the exciting prospect will take it with both hands.

"I think last year he showed when he played a few games the occasion doesn't overawe him," McInnes said.

"I thought he played really well on debut against the Roosters and after that as well. The thing about Tristan is he's a very confident kid and very versatile, and quite an exciting attacking player.

"If he gets the opportunity, he'll be really excited to go and pretty threatening out there."

The Dragons reshuffle will see McInnes return to his usual hooker position.

The skipper dispelled earlier reports he is frustrated about the mid-season shift to lock, instead revealing he has enjoyed the move.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed it. I played a fair bit there as a kid, so it's been good to be able to play there lately, especially with Hunty at hooker.

"It's good I can play both. If the team needs me to play hooker, I'll do that.

"Before, I viewed myself as a hooker who could play lock, whereas now I don't really have a preference for either, I really enjoy both."

The Rabbitohs will be bolstered by the return of Latrell Mitchell, the fullback having served a two-game suspension. Liam Knight and Patrick Mago have also been named on the bench.

Thursday's match is shaping as season defining for St George Illawarra, with the side desperate to remain in touch with the top eight.

The Rabbitohs are one of a group of five fighting for two spots, Wayne Bennett's team currently sitting 10^th on 10 points. The Dragons are two points back in 11^th.

A loss could leave the side six points outside the eight with eight games to play and matches against five of the top six teams still to come.

St George Illawarra have been improving each week, however McInnes said his squad must start to play for the full 80 minutes in order to start winning consistently.

"There's still periods of the games whether it's errors or penalties, or last week I think the Sharks were just more physical for about 20 minutes and took the game over. That's our next step, working on those little periods there.

"We played well in patches, but if you're going to play that way and have 15-20 minutes where you let the other side dominate, you're going to find yourself in games like that.

"You might win one week, but you might lose the next. We need to fix that because you can't just leave it up to chance at the end of the game.

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