St George Illawarra prop Justin Poore will miss four weeks of the NRL after scans on Monday confirmed he has a fractured left hand.

The injury to the hard-working forward is a massive setback for the Dragons after they were beaten 17-16 by Melbourne in golden point extra time last Friday.

New recruit Neville Costigan is the man most likely to force his way into the Dragons side to face the Gold Coast at Wollongong's WIN Stadium on Saturday night.

Costigan scored a hat-trick on Sunday as Shellharbour routed Newtown in the NSW Cup.

Fellow recruit Mickey Paea is another option for coach Wayne Bennett, while Dan Hunt, Jarrod Saffy and Matt Prior will push for a starting spot alongside Michael Weyman.

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