Josh Dugan has starred for a resolute St George Illawarra in a gritty victory over the premiers but only after figuring in the game's latest concussion controversy.
The Dragons staged a successful raid on the territory of their closest geographical rivals, hanging on bravely to hold off a spirited Cronulla fightback and record their second win of the season.
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Did Dugan require an HIA?
Despite lying motionless, face down on the field after a knock to the head, Josh Dugan was not taken off for a head injury assessment.
An outstanding Dugan was at the heart of the resistance but there are likely to be lingering questions over whether he should have been taken from the field early in the match for a head-injury assessment.
He had been felled in the ninth minute of the game by the elbow of teammate Russell Packer as the pair attempted a tackle on Cronulla captain Paul Gallen. Dugan was attended to by a trainer as he lay motionless for more than 30 seconds but was ultimately cleared to continue.
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It wasn't the only notable head knock of the evening - an ill Cronulla second-rower Wade Graham was ruled out of the game with 25 minutes having earlier passed a concussion test - but the Dugan incident is sure to be scrutinised closely.
Dragons coach Paul McGregor defended his club on Sunday night, saying Dugan had been attended to for a "jaw injury, not a head injury".
"That was the report that I got back in the box," McGregor said. "I've got Kurt Mann there (on the bench)...I've got a bloke to put on straight away. But he said it was his jaw. I back the medical staff there. If it's a jaw, it's a jaw. it's nothing to do with concussion."
Dugan isn't exactly a player foreign to Lazarus-like rises after writhing around on the ground in apparent agony but on this occasion he appeared genuinely dazed by the friendly fire. It wasn't the first concussion drama of the weekend, with eyebrows raised about how Newcastle's Brendan Elliot was permitted to play on after a swinging arm from South Sydney's Hymel Hunt.
The incidents have only increased the confusion about clubs' handling of the concussion policy.
"It was a bit strange. I thought if you laid motionless you had to come off," Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan said. "Duges mightn't have had any signs of concussion but he did lay prone there. The rules state that if he lays prone he's supposed to come off for a test."
Gallen added: "I don't know what he stayed down for but he was motionless as Flanno said. I said to the referee 'he's got to go off'. He said it's not his decision. It's hard when he stops the game and you're on the front foot. He stops the game totally and he gets to stay on, that's the hard thing."
The Dragons No.1 recovered sufficiently to be a constant presence for McGregor's unwavering side.
The Sharks had given the revitalised visitors a head start, with the premiers kept scoreless at the break as the Dragons shot to a 14-0 lead via a double to centre Euan Aitken.
Tries to Luke Lewis and Edrick Lee narrowed the margin and while the Dragons posted only a Gareth Widdop penalty goal in the second half - awarded after Andrew Fifita lashed out at Josh McCrone while in possession - it was enough.
McGregor agreed it was a courageous performance. Flanagan's assessment was unsurprisingly different.
"We played poorly, kicked poorly, kicked out on the full, missed too many tackles," Flanagan concluded. "It was our worst performance in 12 months."
Originally published on The Sydney Morning Herald as Coaches at odds after Josh Dugan head knock in Dragons' win over Sharks.
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