Kaide Ellis believes there's "special things" coming for the St George Illawarra Dragons after an embarrassing few weeks for the club.
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The Dubbo junior and Dragons prop will miss Friday night's game against Manly as he and teammates Matt Dufty and Tyrell Fuimaono serve their one-match ban for attending an infamous barbecue earlier this month.
Twelve Dragons players attended the illegal barbecue held during the COVID lockdown and it cost Paul Vaughan, who hosted the get-together, his contract with the club.
The one-game suspensions for the other 11 players are spread across four rounds to ensure a team can be put on the park each week.
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Ellis was one of the players who posted an apology on the Dragons' website this week.
"It gives the club a bad look and we understand our members and general fans of the game are upset with how we carried ourselves," he said.
"We want to sincerely apologise and hope you stick by us."
Like his teammates, Ellis knows it's up to the players to earn back the trust of the fans.
They're determined to do that via their actions on the field in the coming weeks as the Red V aims to remain in the NRL's top eight heading into the business end of the season.
"We're going to have some special things things over the coming weeks and we hope you stick by us and build that trust again so we can show what we can do on the field," he said.
Parkes junior Billy Burns, someone not involved with the barbecue, is again named for the Dragons on Friday while former Woodbridge Cup player Cody Ramsey will be on the wing.
Manly's Tom Trbojevic is expected to miss the match after playing for NSW on Wednesday night.
Wellington junior Tyrone Peachey will again start from the bench for Gold Coast against Paramatta in Friday night's other match.
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