St George Illawarra Dragons thought they'd hit the front against rivals Cronulla Sharks on the hour when Cody Ramsey dived over after winger Sione Katoa couldn't handle another towering Ben Hunt bomb, only for the bunker to pick up a knock on from Jack Bird in the lead-up.

Ramsey injured his left ankle during the play and the winger had to be helped off the field.

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He took no further part in the game.

Things went from bad to worse for the Dragons as the Sharks went up the other end soon after to extend their lead to eight points.

Earlier in the game, a sloppy play-the-ball from Ramsey gifted Cronulla an early attacking set in front of the sticks, which saw Josh Dugan open the scoring in the fourth minutes.

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The visiting Sharks came eventually gained derby bragging rights with a stirring 32-18 victory.

Asked about Ramsey's injury in the post-game press conference, Dragons coach Anthony Griffin was confident he would be able to suit up in round 2.

"He's not bad, he's just rolled his ankle trying to score that try," he said.

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"He's got a little bit of a swollen ankle but they're not too worried about him down there. They think he'll be ok to play next week."

The next game for the Dragons will be on Saturday night when they travel to Townsville to take on the Cowboys.

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