Gerringong's Dylan Egan will undergo major knee surgery after scans on Monday confirmed that he ruptured his ACL in St George Illawarra's win over Brisbane on Sunday.

He suffered the injury to his right knee in the early stages of the Dragons' surprise victory at Suncorp Stadium when he reeled out of a tackle in just the fourth minute of the match.

Egan was quickly taken from the field and he was a forlorn figure on the bench on the sidelines due to the serious nature of the injury.

It was just his eighth appearance at NRL level since making his debut in March and the 20-year-old second-rower had been enjoying an impressive start to his first-grade career with three tries.

The former Illawarra Steelers SG Ball Cup captain came through the ranks at Gerringong and was packing down alongside fellow Lions junior Hamish Stewart in the Dragons' pack.

Dragons coach Shane Flanagan was devastated for Egan.

"He's such a good kid, and such an important part of our team moving forward," he said in the post-match media conference after the thrilling 30-26 triumph over the Broncos.

Flanagan added on Monday: “This is awful news for Dylan and for the club.

“He’s not just a really important player for us this season and into the future, he’s a wonderful young man at the start of his NRL career and a very popular player within our group.

“For now we’re all going to rally around him and make sure he has plenty of care and support as he goes through his surgery and rehab. We look forward to welcoming him back into the team bigger and better in 2026.”

As well as the torn ACL, he also sustained cartilage damage and if the reconstructive surgery is a success, he should be right to make a comeback at the start of next season.

Egan recently re-signed with the Dragons on a new contract until the end of the 2027 season.

It has been a bumper season for Gerringong players in the NRL with Egan and Stewart getting their start at St George Illawarra, Tyran Wishart continuing his strong form for Melbourne, Jackson Ford playing well for the New Zealand Warriors and Kyle McCarthy getting his second game for Newcastle on the wing.