Gerringong’s Tyran Wishart has been handed the daunting task of filling in for Dally M Medal winner Jahrome Hughes in Melbourne’s NRL finals campaign.

The Storm were considered the premiership favourites heading into the final round but Hughes suffered a broken forearm while making a tackle on Broncos forward Brendan Piakura.

Wishart has been named to replace Hughes at halfback for Friday night’s AAMI Park showdown with the Bulldogs.

The winner of this match will progress to week three of the playoffs but the loser will have to play again next week in a sudden-death clash with the winner of the qualifying final between the Warriors and Penrith in Auckland on Saturday.

Wishart has done an admirable job when deputising for Hughes this season.

When the Kiwi international was recently sidelined with a shoulder injury, Wishart started in the halves in four straight victories over the Eels, Broncos, Panthers and Bulldogs before the Storm went down to the Roosters in Round 26.

The Storm have fallen behind Canberra in the premiership odds after last week’s defeat at the hands of Brisbane and they will also be without fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen (concussion) and suspended prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona for their duel with the Dogs.

St George Illawarra missed the finals, plummeting to 15th by the end of the regular season on the back of four straight losses, culminating in their 40-20 loss to Penrith at WIN Stadium last Saturday.

"I've learned a lot this year about some individuals and the team," Dragons coach Shane Flanagan said.

"In the end, because of the injury toll that we've had, the lack of that class in real crucial moments has probably hurt us a bit.

"We just can't get it done when we need to."

Gerringong rookie trio Dylan Egan, Hamish Stewart and Hayden Buchanan were bright spots for the Dragons in their disappointing season.

Egan scored three tries in eight matches and was cementing a spot in the starting second row when an ACL rupture in a match against the Broncos brought a premature end to his season.

Stewart also showed he was up to the task of packing down in the NRL forwards, suiting up for 19 games before missing the final three rounds due to an unfortunate concussion when he had a head clash with teammate Jack de Belin in the loss to the Warriors.

Buchanan got his chance late in the season but latched onto it, scoring a try on debut in the upset win over Cronulla at Kogarah last month.

The 19-year-old ended up playing the final five matches of the season and will be a strong contender for a starting spot next year.

In the NRLW, St George Illawarra will also miss the playoffs after their 42-14 loss to the Cowboys last week but will be looking to finish their season on a positive note when they take on the Knights in Newcastle on Sunday.

Kiama junior Maria Paseka has played strongly after getting her call-up to the top side, crossing for two tries in the past three weeks.