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St. George Illawarra Dragons

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St. George Illawarra Dragons
File:St George Illawarra Dragons logo.jpg
Club information
Full nameSt. George Illawarra Dragons
Rugby League Football Club
Nickname(s)Red V, Red and Whites, Dragons, Saints.
Founded1999 as St. George Illawarra Dragons
Current details
Ground(s)
CEOAustralia Peter Doust
CoachAustralia Nathan Brown
CaptainAustralia Mark Gasnier
CompetitionNational Rugby League
2008National Rugby League - 12th
Current season
Records
Premierships0 (0)
Minor premierships0 (0)
Most capped163 – Ben Hornby
Highest points scorer517 – Australia Mark Riddell

The St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football team. Their top team compete in the National Rugby League's Telsta Premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia and their Under 20's side play in the Toyota Cup. The St. George Illawarra Dragons entered the NRL competition in 1999 as a joint venture between the St. George Dragons and the Illawarra Steelers. Officially they formed as the game’s first joint venture on September 23, 1998.

St. George Illawarra remains the only cross-city team in the NRL. They have their headquarters and rugby league clubs in both Wollongong and Kogarah in Sydney and train and play games regularly in Wollongong at WIN Stadium as well as at Oki Jubilee Stadium and sometimes ANZ Stadium in Sydney.

Premierships

St George Illawarra Dragons

  • First Grade Premierships: 0
  • Runners Up: 1 (1999)
  • Minor Premiers: 0
  • Premier League Premierships: 1 (2001)
  • Premier League Runner up: 2 (2002, 2004)
  • Jersey Flegg Premierships: 1 (2005)
  • Jersey Flegg Runner Up: 1 (2002)

St George Dragons

  • First Grade Premierships: 15 (1941, 1949, 1956 - 1966, 1977, 1979)
  • Runners up: 12 (1927, 1930, 1933, 1942, 1946, 1953, 1971, 1974, 1985, 1992, 1993, 1996)
  • Minor Premiers: 15 (1928, 1946, 1956 - 1960, 1962 - 1967, 1979, 1985)

Illawarra Steelers

  • First Grade Premierships : 0
  • Runners up: 0
  • Minor Premiers: 0

Club history

In the wake of the Super League war of 1995 and 1996, and the resulting split competition of 1997, the Illawarra Steelers found themselves struggling financially and would not survived past 1999. The St. George Dragons largely financed a proposal for a joint venture which would see the St George Illawarra Dragons playing in both Kogarah and Wollongong. Essentially, St George would provide the money while the Illawarra would provide a broader junior base. With the NRL's intention to rationalise the competition from 20 teams down to 14 teams and with substantial financial incentives and a relaxing of salary cap requirements for joint ventures, the Dragons and the Steelers ensured their survival by forming the League's first joint venture on September 23, 1998.

Joint ventures being a new concept in Australian rugby league, the public watched closely in anticipation of success or failure. No-one was certain how the top players sourced from the joint venture's two feeder clubs would perform when they ran out onto the field. They were unsuccessful in their first outing, losing to the Parramatta Eels 20-10, but by the 4th round they had started to form some cohesion and would go on to achieve a top 8 position on the competition ladder by the end of the regular season.

In the semi-finals the Dragons won against the Melbourne Storm at Olympic Park, before returning to Sydney to dispose of the Roosters and Cronulla to reach the Grand Final.

In the Grand Final the Dragons were leading by 14-0 at the break. A fairytale of a maiden title in their first year seemed destined to come true; something of an advertisement to any other clubs considering the option of a joint venture, but the Storm recovered from their poor start and went into the final minutes of the game with the Dragons leading by 18-14. The Dragons were forced to perform a drop kick from their own goal line, and on the fifth tackle Brett Kimmorley kicked high towards the Dragon's corner of the field. As the Storm's winger Craig Smith caught the ball over the try-line he was knocked unconscious in a tackle by Jamie Ainscough and lost the ball. Referee Bill Harrigan deferred to the video referee who ruled a penalty try on the grounds that contact had been made with the head, giving Melbourne a 20-18 lead and the premiership title.

In early 2006, WIN Television Network bought a 25% share in the St. George Illawarra club for $6.5 million (half of Illawarra's share), erasing any debt Illawarra had to St. George. This formalised the strong support the network has shown for the Steelers in years gone by and ensured that Wollongong will continue to host world class rugby league matches.

2005 season

After their worst start to a season yet (losing 5 of their first 6 games) the St. George Illawarra side finished second in a close season on the ladder at completion of the 2005 season, just behind minor premiers the Parramatta Eels on points difference. After progressing to the finals they defeated local rivals the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 28-22 in the quarter final of the finals series though the Dragons eventually fell 12-20 to eventual champions the Wests Tigers in the Preliminary Final.

The Dragons broke the ground record at WIN Stadium twice in the 2005 season. First against rivals the Sydney Roosters and then at their home quarter final game against the Cronulla Sharks.

2006 season

After a shaky start, the Dragons put on a mid season 7 game winning streak. This was followed by an unfortunate form slump, with a record five consecutive losses, only to return to form with a victory over the Tigers, and continue this positive form leading into the finals. The Dragons ended the regular season in sixth position.

In 2006, the Dragons embarked on a finals campaign in which they would play their previous grand final opponents, starting with the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium to whom the Dragons lost 14-6 in the 1993 Grand Final, but, in 2006, won 20-4 to march on to week 2. The following week they played the Manly Sea Eagles, who defeated the Dragons in the 1996 Grand Final. The Dragons won 28-0. The following week they played the Melbourne Storm. The Storm had previously beaten the Dragons in a controversial grand final which saw Craig Smith (Melbourne Storm winger playing his last game) score a penalty try after Dragons winger Jamie Ainscough had tackled him high. The rematch saw the Dragons lose 24-10 and bow out of season 2006.

2007 season

A major injury to star player Mark Gasnier in the Charity Shield match against South Sydney Rabbitohs provided, once again, a shakey start to the 2007 season. Combined with the loss of key players such as Luke Bailey, Trent Barrett and Shaun Timmins in the off-season, the Dragons faced NRL newcomers, the Gold Coast Titans, in Round 1. The Dragons won the historic match 20-18, however lost 6 more matches after that leaving the Dragons sitting in 15th place on the NRL Ladder. In Round 8, the Dragons pulled of an impressive victory against the Penrith Panthers with a score of 28-16. The Dragons also pulled off a great win at Oki Jubilee Stadium against the Brisbane Broncos 11-4. This team was the most inexperienced that the Dragons have ever sent out onto a field. By round 15, however, the Dragons had lost 3 games in a row, anchoring them to the bottom of the ladder, and making them firm favourites to take out the wooden spoon for the first time in the club's history.

In Round 17, (St. George Illawarra vs. Canberra Raiders at WIN Stadium), the Dragons scored four times more points than their previous game average, leading 22-10 at halftime before Josh Morris’ 80-metre breakaway try in the 49th minute put the issue beyond doubt. The Dragons equalled their highest ever score and it was their largest victory in three years. They also made a season-high 31 offloads. Canberra, who’d won the past six games between the sides, missed 65 tackles and didn’t have one player who made 100 metres in the game – a first this year. The Dragons climbed to 13th on the NRL ladder, overtaking the 14th-placed Raiders.

Round 18 was a disappointment, losing 44-16 against the New Zealand Warriors at Mt. Smart Stadium in Auckland. In round 19 star player Mark Gasnier returned from what was thought to be a season ending injury. He started the match at five-eighth as the team faced the Penrith Panthers. The Dragons season ended with a 28-24 loss to the Manly Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval on Sunday, September 2nd. They ended on 13th place with 20 competition points.

2008 season

Further information: St George Illawarra Dragons 2008

Having failed to bring the club a premiership during his current tenure with the Dragons and coming off contract at the end of the year, Coach Nathan Brown has had heat on him from 2007 to bring the Dragons up and away from the bottom of the ladder. Since the start of the 2008 season, the Dragons have had, once again, loss after loss which has caused Peter Doust (Dragons CEO), to bring in a new coach in the case of Brisbane Broncos current coach Wayne Bennett for the 2009 season up until 2011. The Dragons started the 2008 season by winning the Mercury Challenge match against the Bulldogs 40 - 30 at WIN Stadium in Wollongong and winning their first Toyota Cup trial match against Bulldogs at 30 - 22. The following week the Dragons went down to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the annual Charity Shield clash 24-20 at ANZ Stadium. The club received a boost in May when former Union and League (Brisbane Broncos) star Wendell Sailor joined the team after a 2-year ban from professional sport in Australia due to his cocaine controversy. He will start with the team in June after 2-3 weeks of practice with the Shellharbour Marlins.

The Dragons started another year with disapointing results when they only won three times after 10 rounds, defeating the Gold Coast Titans in Round 2, the Sydney Roosters in Round 7 and the Melbourne Storm in Round 10 all with terrific results. On May 23, the Dragons recorded their first back-to-back wins of the season when they defeated the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval with a final score of 20-18. In Round 12, Dragons proved that they can also defeat teams lower on the ladder recording a 26-12 win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs. They then defeated an understrenght Brisbane Broncos side who had many players on Origin duty with a scoreline of 28-10 in Round 13 at WIN Stadium, Wollongong. The Dragons new winger Wendell Sailor made his NRL return in this match also sustaining a minor cheekbone injury.

GO NSW

Colours and Jerseys

St. George Illawarra Dragons had a red and white colour scheme which was use since the debut of the St. George Dragons in 1921. From 1921-1944, the Dragons used Red and White stripes all around their jersey and in 1945 they changed it to an all white with a red V, which has now become a well known symbol for the original club and joint venture. The original Illawarra Steelers jersey was all scarlet with two white stripes on each sleeve. The alternate design was the same colours in reverse. From 1999 to 2005, the joint venture Dragons team would wear the "Red V Jersey" as their main jersey. But on Steelers heritage day in 2005, Dragons wore an all Red jersey (with the exception of 3 white stripes on the sleeves) which proved popular with many former Illawarra fans. That jersey is now used today as the Alternate Jersey or as some like to call it, the Illawarra Jersey. The Red and White has been one of the most recognised and well-known clubs in its St. George history and its St. George Illawarra history.

Main Jersey - White with the famous Red "V", synonymous with Adidas designed clothing.

Alternate Jersey - Red with three white stripes along the sleeves, synonymous with Adidas designed clothing.

  • 2005-present
    2005-present

Supporters

Supporters of the Dragons mainly come from the club's local areas, the suburbs of the St.George district in Sydney (the Hurstville, Rockdale, and Kogarah Council regions), and the Illawarra on the south-coast of NSW. The St George Illawarra Dragons also have a huge following in south-east Queensland, as 17,000 of the club's 'Red V' memberships are from people in this area, and also from Maitland (including Hinton Hornets star Daniel Murray). The Dragons also have supporters from all over NSW, with the club receiving record crowds at away games at Stadium Australia (currently known as ANZ Stadium) at Sydney Olympic Park. Notably there is also a large Dragons following in Victoria, based around Melbourne and Geelong.[1] It is understood that the club receives support from NRL fans in other states as well, mostly due to the Dragons' notable success ever since their debut in the competition.

Sponsorships

The Dragons are currently sponsored by:

St George Bank (major sponsor), IGT (shorts sponsor), and Southern Cross Constructions (sleeve sponsor)

All official NRL St George Illawarra Dragons clothing merchandise is made by Adidas.

Current Squad

The St. George Illawarra Dragons have 31 signed players in first grade that play in the main competition.

No. Position Player

Jardine Bobongie – LK Rangi Chase – FE Matt Cooper – CE Ben Creagh – SR Ben Ellis – HK Joe Falemaka – PR Mark Gasnier (captain) – CE Jon Green – PR Mark Hendy – CE Ben Hornby – FB Dan Hunt – HK Michael Lett – WG Brett Morris – FB Josh Morris – WG Jason Nightingale – WG Justin Poore – PR

No. Position Player

Matt Prior – SR Alex Ranieri – HK Kirk Reynoldson – SR Jason Ryles – PR Jarrod Saffy – SR Frank Samia – CE Wendell Sailor – WG Beau Scott – SR Lagi Setu – LK Jamie Soward – FE Chase Stanley – CE Ricky Thorby – PR Stuart Webb – HK Simon Woolford – HK Dean Young – LK

(*) To see the usual match line-up, see St. George Illawarra Dragons 2008.

Past Players

Further information: List of St. George Illawarra Dragons players

or see St George Illawarra Dragons Representatives.

Here are some notable past players of the joint venture club.

Coaches

Dragons Club Records

Further information: St. George Illawarra Dragons Records

(updated as of June 6, 2008.)

Most Points for the Club

Most Tries for the Club

Most Points in a Season

  • 166 - Mark Riddell in 24 games, 2003 (7 tries, 69 goals)
  • 162 - Wayne Bartrim in 25 games, 1999 (5 tries, 79 goals)
  • 129 - Mark Riddell in 18 games, 2002 (10 tries, 44 goals, 1 Fg)

Most Tries in a Season

  • 27 - Nathan Blacklock in 28 games, 2001
  • 25 - Nathan Blacklock in 26 games, 2000
  • 24 - Nathan Blacklock in 26 games, 1999

Most Points in a Match

Biggest Winning Margins

Margin Score Opponent Venue Date
54 54-0 Auckland Warriors WIN Stadium 6 May, 2000
50 50-0 Wests Tigers OKI Jubilee Stadium 20 June, 2004
46 50-4 Melbourne Storm WIN Stadium 4 June, 2000
46 48-2 Newcastle Knights WIN Stadium 4 April, 2004

Biggest Losing Margins

Margin Score Opponent Venue Date
60 10-70 Melbourne Storm MCG 3 March, 2000
48 6-54 Newcastle Knights WIN Stadium 8 April, 2006
46 4-50 North Queensland Cowboys Dairy Farmers Stadium 29 April, 2000
36 4-40 Cronulla Sharks Toyota Park 9 April, 2007

Most Consecutive Wins

  • 8 - (July 17, 2008 - September 10, 2005)
  • 4 - (May 17, 2008 - June 6, 2008)

Most Consecutive Loses

  • 5 - (September 5, 2004 - April 2, 2005)
  • 5 - (July 14 - August 13, 2006)
  • 5 - (March 23 - April 30, 2007)

Biggest Comeback

  • Trailed Manly 34-10 after 57 minutes to win 36-34 at Oki Jubilee Stadium (August 19, 2004).

Worst Collapse

  • Led Melbourne 14-0 at halftime to lose 20-18 at Stadium Australia (1999 Grand Final)
  • Led Sydney 14-0 after 53 minutes to lose 18-14 at Aussie Stadium (July 16, 2004)
  • Led Canterbury 14-0 after 36 minutes to lose 28-24 at WIN Stadium (July 28, 2007)

Home Grounds/Stadium Records

Current:

Former:

Highest Attendances at Oki Jubilee Stadium

  • 18,223 - Dragons v Bulldogs (14/7/2006)
  • 17,523 - Dragons v Eels (21/8/2005)
  • 17,113 - Dragons v Sharks (24/7/2005)
  • 16,915 - Dragons v Wests Tigers (20/6/2004)
  • 16,713 - Dragons v Sharks (4/5/2003)

Highest Attendances at WIN Stadium

  • 19,608 - Dragons v Sharks (10/9/2005)
  • 19,512 - Dragons v Roosters (29/7/2005)
  • 19,501 - Dragons v Bulldogs (28/7/2007)
  • 18,932 - Dragons v Panthers (18/4/2004)
  • 18,382 - Dragons v Rabbitohs (11/8/2007)

Leagues Clubs

St George Leagues Club, Beverley Park, Sydney
Jubilee Stadium and Walk of Fame, Park Street, Carlton, Sydney

As well as having two administrative offices, St George Illawarra are supported by two separate Leagues clubs - one in each of the St George and Illawarra areas.

St George Leagues Club

The St George Leagues Club is located on Princes Highway at Beverley Park close to the northern home ground of OKI Jubilee Stadium at Carlton. It was established in 1963, St George was one of the first Super Leagues clubs developed in the 60's and was commonly referred to the Taj Mahal because of the use of white marbel in the original building. Very little of the original building is still there today after extensively refurbishing and redesigning the entire club to make it one of the most superbly fitting clubs in Australia.

Steelers Club

Situated in the heart of the vibrant City Beach precinct, the Steelers Club is ideally located adjacent to WIN Entertainment Centre and WIN Stadium. It is directly across the road from the grounds Western Grandstand. The Steelers Club is at the centre of Wollongong’s sporting and entertainment hub. Facilities include TAB, Keno, Foxsports and our famous Sidelines Café.

See also

References

  1. ^ | Melbourne Based Dragons Supporters

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