St George Illawarra Dragons coach Shane Flanagan says injuries and a lack of form gave him no other choice but to drop cult hero Mikaele Ravalawa to the NSW Cup.

The Dragons were thrashed by Canterbury last weekend with several tries conceded on Ravalawa’s side.

Flanagan’s decision to sack the Fijian flyer comes on a weekend where the side will be missing Zac Lomax, Ben Hunt and Jaydn Su’a due to State of Origin commitments.

The coach also conceded that there has been an agreement that veterans would get more chances to keep themselves in the top side despite the Dragons dropping to 13th with a 5-6 record.

“He’s been troubled with a knee and a foot injury over the last couple of months and I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Mika,” Flanagan said.

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“The group has been told numerous times that I’ll give the senior players a bit of leeway but I’ve got to put the best team out there.

“This is the best team available for us this weekend.”

The Dragons travel to Penrith this Saturday night.