St George Illawarra skipper Ben Hornby says the NRL leaders are unconcerned about the prospect of losing top spot with defeat on Friday in Brisbane.

Wayne Bennett's depleted side lost only their second game of the season to struggling Gold Coast last Friday, with six players sidelined due to State of Origin and three more missing through injury.

Defeat to the Broncos and wins for Manly and Melbourne could see the Dragons slip to third on the ladder.

Jamie Soward, Beau Scott, Mark Gasnier, Darius Boyd, Trent Merrin and Ben Creagh have all been named in the side to face the Broncos, just 48 hours after playing in Origin II in Sydney.

Hornby admitted preparations for Bennett's return to Suncorp Stadium had been hit hard with so many key players missing from training, but believed the defending premiers were tough enough to get a result.

"We're not concentrating on losing top spot. We just want to go up there and play well, but it is a difficult time of the year for us," Hornby said.

"We don't know which blokes will get through Origin, but they are in a similar sort of boat so we will see what happens.

"There is nothing we can do about Origin. We just have to tough it out.

"Last year, we didn't have as many blokes involved as we have this year. It's going to be a challenge for us, but we will be up for it."

Despite losing to the Titans at Kogarah, Hornby said the opportunity for the joint venture's young guns to shine was a positive to take from the 28-14 result.

"We're just trying to put it behind us. With so many changes, it's hard to get the combinations together. We were quite happy with how we played, but let ourselves down in defence a little bit," he said.

"It's always good to see the young blokes get a chance. A lot of them have been waiting a fair while, so it's good to see them go out there and play well."

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