Cooper facing NRL fitness race
St George Illawarra centre Matt Cooper is facing a race against time to be fit for Friday night's NRL season-opener against Parramatta.
Cooper is battling a hamstring injury and was a notable absentee from Tuesday's training session at WIN Stadium.
The former Test and NSW representative is expected to be named in the squad to face the Eels at Parramatta Stadium, with a decision on his availability unlikely until after the club's final training run on Thursday.
Cooper hasn't played in any of the Dragons' trial matches as a result of the injury, with his only pre-season hit-out being the All-Stars game on the Gold Coast in early February.
Ex-Brisbane three-quarter Nick Emmett and the versatile Matt Prior both trained in place of Cooper, though Prior is likely to start in the forwards rather than out in the backs.
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