Head confident of
playing in Manly clash

St George Illawarra halfback Mathew Head has declared he would be confident in first grade should he be called up when the Dragons take on the Manly Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval this Saturday. Head played for the Saints in the Premier League at WIN Stadium last Saturday night, the first graders were later thrashed 54-6 by Newcastle in the main fixture.

A key player for the Dragons, Head was injured in round 14 of 2005 and has since sat out 10 months on the sidelines following a knee reconstruction.

"The knee pulled up pretty well yesterday so that was the big positive out of everything," Head told AAP.

"The things I did on the weekend shows that I'm capable of playing [first grade] and it's one of Brownie's [Nathan Brown] calls to see if he picks me."

But in order to regain strength and confidence in his knee, Head has also said he is prepared to spend more time in the second grade if that's what coach Nathan Brown wants.

"Me and Brownie have spoken before and we weren't going to rush things," Head said.

"If it's positive for me to go into first grade this week well then so be it, but I'll just do what ever the coaches think.

"It's pulled up a bit sore today but I'm pretty pleased I got through a full game of footy."

"I don't want to go back too early and show that I'm not up to standard, because then I can get dropped and probably fade away in reserve grade."

"I'll make sure that my knee's right and I'll be ready to go... but I'm willing to just bide my time and wait until I'm back playing footy."

The Dragons have had their share of injuries this year with front rowers Jason Ryles and Luke Bailey sidelined until round 7. Meanwhile lock forward Shaun Timmins and centre/winger Wes Naiqama will make their return for the Saturday afternoon clash against Manly.