St George Illawarra Dragons secure Freddy Lussick loan deal for season's final two fixtures

With Andrew McCullough having undergone surgery on the ankle he injured against Penrith a fortnight ago, the Dragons hooking depth has been drained.

McGuire started last week's clash with the Roosters at dummy-half, with rookie half Jayden Sullivan playing 65 minutes there in the defeat.

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Having played just four NRL games this season, Lussick will now get some valuable time on the park in the Dragons clashes with the Cowboys and Rabbitohs to finish the season.

McGuire expects to shift back to his customary middle forward role, but feels there were some benefits in Sullivan getting a long stint in a tough role.

"[Lussick's] a great pick up for us, it's always handy to have quality players and we appreciate him coming across," McGuire said.

"It's nice to have a [genuine] nine there, my back won't be sore from having to bend down and pick up the ball all the time. I'm probably a better runner of the ball than passer.

"I thought Bud did a really good job there for his first game in the middle, he played 65 minutes. [The Roosters] are a big pack so the original plan for the first 20 or so was to take a bit of sting out of the contact then Bud was going to come on.

"It's a different world in the middle there and he held his own really well. There was no need for me to go back there to give him a rest and I thought he did a great job for his first game at hooker.

"It'll be handy having two quality dummy-halves there [this week]."

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It's the second time the Dragons have leant on a loan deal this season, with Warriors forward Jamayne Taunoa-Brown for a two-game stint earlier this year in the wake of mass suspensions.

"Given the mounting injury toll throughout our playing ranks, we thought it important to sign a recognised hooker to our squad for the coming weeks," general manager of football Ben Haran said.

"We'd like to thank the Roosters for allowing Freddy to join our squad in Brisbane and look forward to providing him a short-term opportunity with the Dragons."

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