St George Illawarra Dragons' finals hopes are hanging by a thread after a narrow loss to the Roosters loss at Kogarah on Saturday night.

They are now four points off eighth spot in 11th place with a 6-10 record and probably have to win seven of their remaining eight matches to have any chance of sneaking into the finals.

The Dragons put up a gallant fight against the star-studded Roosters but ended up losing 31-24.

Gerringong Lions forward Hamish Stewart made a comeback from a week out with a concussion, playing 21 minutes off the bench and getting through 19 tackles in a typically busy stint from the rookie lock.

He injured his knee and could be in doubt to play the Bulldogs at Homebush next Saturday.

The Dragons conceded the first try to Daniel Tupou but equalised when Tyrell Sloan crossed the stripe in the seventh minute.

After another Roosters try to Tupou, the home side went 18-12 up when young winger Sione Finau touched down twice in the space of four minutes.

The Roosters drew level when Maroons centre Robert Toia outleapt Queensland teammate Valentine Holmes for a bomb and they took a 19-18 lead into the break after Sam Walker snapped a field goal just before half-time.

Roosters centre Billy Smith extended their advantage to seven early in the second half before second-rower Jaydn Su'A, in his 150th NRL game, set up a thrilling finish when he notched a try with 15 minutes remaining.

The visitors sealed the win three minutes from the final siren when lock Victor Radley scored next to the posts.

Dragons coach Shane Flanagan said they paid the price for a slow start to the game when they allowed two tries within the first 10 minutes.

"In the end, that's the game," he said.

"After that, we got in a bit of an arm wrestle, played some good football but you can't gift any team, let alone the Roosters, 12 points at the start of the game."

The Dragons face another tough task next Saturday when they tackle the third-placed Bulldogs at Accor Stadium.