Warriors captain Steve Price will return to the field against St George Illawarra this weekend despite admitting he hasn’t completely recovered from the knock-out blow that saw him stretchered off Suncorp Stadium last week.<br><br>Price suffered a heavy concussion during the third State of Origin game after he was floored by a Brett White right hand – the severity of the injury forcing him to sit out his side’s 30-24 win over Sydney Roosters last Sunday.<br><br>His return this week is a huge boost for the Warriors as they look to mount a late finals charge but the 35-year-old told NRL.com today that he was still feeling some minor after-effects.<br><br>“I’m a bit doughy and feeling a bit sorry for myself,” he said. “That’s just normal though, I’ve been knocked out a few times during my career now.<br><br>“But I’ll be right – I’m much better than I was.”<br><br>The Warriors have been battered by injury in recent months but the return of Price and boom youngster Kevin Locke this weekend has them confident of causing an upset on home soil against the table-topping Dragons.<br><br>“To make the finals you’ve got to win and nothing changes in that regard for us but we expect to win every game we play in,” Price said.<br><br>“There is no bigger challenge for us than the Dragons this weekend.<br><br>“It was good to get the win last week but we haven’t been too far off getting that win the past six or seven weeks.<br><br>“Unfortunately we haven’t been getting the results and it has put us under this pressure we’re in at the moment. <br><br>“The good news is that we’ve all continued to work hard and the attitude is very good among the players. No-one is pointing the finger at anyone else or blaming anybody.<br><br>“We’re on again this weekend against a full-strength Dragons’ side that has been playing some great footy all year.<br><br>“It won’t be easy but it’s at home and we’re looking forward to it.”<br><br>Price said Sunday’s clash loomed as one of the best attacking clashes of the season after the Warriors broke their recent point-scoring hoodoo against Sydney Roosters last weekend.<br><br>“It’s very good for the players to get that confidence,” he said. <br><br>“We’ve only been averaging 14 points over the past five or six weeks so to get 30 was certainly good. <br><br>“The negative is that the Roosters scored 24.<br><br>“We have to defend better than that – particularly against a team like the Dragons who have threats all across the field.<br><br>“But we pose our own threats so hopefully we can take confidence from last week’s result and build upon what we started.”<br><b><br>Late news:</b><br><br>• The Dragons will welcome back enforcer Jeremy Smith for their trek across the Tasman on Sunday;<br>• The Broncos will have to make do with a makeshift side for tonight’s crucial clash with the Gold Coast after fullback Karmichael Hunt and halfback Peter Wallace were added to an injury list that already includes Darren Lockyer, Sam Thaiday, Tonie Carroll, Israel Folau and Nick Kenny;<br>• Newcastle fullback Kurt Gidley isn’t expected to recover from a rib injury in time to take the field against Manly tonight.
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