St. George Illawarra Dragons
 |
|||
| Club Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | St George Illawarra Dragons Rugby League Football Club |
||
| Nickname(s) | Saints, Red V, Red and Whites | ||
| Founded | 23 September 1998 | ||
| Current Details | |||
| Ground(s) | Jubilee Oval (21,000) Wollongong Showground (20,000) |
||
| CEO(s) | Peter Doust | ||
| Coach(s) | Wayne Bennett | ||
| Captain(s) | Ben Hornby | ||
| Competition | National Rugby League | ||
 Home colours |
 Away colours |
||
 Current season |
|||
| Records | |||
| Premierships | 0 (0) | ||
| Runners-up | 1 (1999) | ||
| Minor premiership | 0 (0) | ||
| Wooden spoons | 0 (0) | ||
| Most Capped | 177 - Ben Hornby | ||
| Most Points | 517 - Mark Riddell | ||
The St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football club that compete in the National Rugby League. The club entered the NRL competition in 1999 as a joint venture between the St. George Dragons and the Illawarra Steelers. They officially formed as the game’s first joint venture on September 23, 1998 and remain the only cross-city team in the NRL. The team has its headquarters and leagues clubs in both Wollongong and the Sydney suburb of Kogarah, and train and play games regularly at WIN Stadium in Wollongong as well as at WIN Jubilee Oval in Kogarah.
The Dragons reached the grand final in their first season in 1999, losing to the Melbourne Storm. They have yet to make another grand final appearance, but have only failed to reach the finals three times since their first season. The St. George Illawarra Dragons also field teams in local competitions within the St. George and Illawarra regions.
Contents |
History
In the wake of the Super League war of the mid-1990s, and the resulting split competition of 1997, the Illawarra Steelers found themselves struggling financially and seemed unlikely to survive 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.
David Waite and Andrew Farrar (1999-2002)
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 Sydney Roosters and Cronulla to reach the Grand Final.
In the 1999 Grand Final the Dragons were leading by 14-0 at the break in front of a world record crowd of 107,999. 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 the 2000 season, the Dragons recorded their worst defeat for the club, losing 70-10 against the Melbourne Storm in round 5. This was the first game these two teams played against each other since the 1999 grand final, and was played at the MCG. The Dragons were not going well in the first half of the 2000 season, and the main coach David Waite was replaced with assistant coach, Andrew Farrar. Soon after the replacement of coaches, the Dragons recorded their best ever win. They beat the Warriors 54-0 in round 14 at Win Stadium. The Dragons, however, missed out of the finals series, and came 9th.
Nathan Brown era (2003-2008)
In 2003, Nathan Brown, the joint ventures first number 9 achieved the position of coach, becoming the youngest non-playing coach in premiership history at the age of 29. The Dragons finished the season 10th.
2004 saw the final season of the try scoring talent Nathan Blacklock. An extraordinary scoreline was seen in the round 25 clash with Manly. Trailing 34-10 after 53 minutes the Dragons came back to win the match 36-34. This was the second biggest comeback in Australian Rugby League history. Finishing 5th, the Dragons were eliminated in the first round of the finals after losing in a thrilling game 30-31 to 4th placed Penrith.
In 2005, 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 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.
After a bad start to the 2006 season, 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 the finals campaign, the St George first faced the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, the Dragons winning 20-4. In the second round, they met the Manly Sea Eagles at the Sydney Football Stadium winning 28-0. In the grand final qualifier, they played the Melbourne Storm, where the Dragons went down 24-10 bowing out of season 2006.
Season 2007 saw an early injury to Mark Gasnier in the Charity Shield match against South Sydney Rabbitohs creating another poor start for the Dragons. 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. This was a very inexperienced Dragons team that seemed destined for a poor injury plagued season. However, in Round 17 (vs Canberra Raiders at WIN Stadium), the Dragons scored four times more points than their previous game average, winning the match 58-16, equalling their highest ever score and their largest victory in three years. The Dragons season ended with a 28-24 loss to the Manly Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval, finishing at 13th place.
2008 saw the end of an era, with Coach Nathan Brown's contract not renewed after yet another poor start to the season, winning 1 of their first 6 matches. The club received a boost in May when former dual-code international player Wendell Sailor joined the team. Several notable players departed at the end of the year including Jason Ryles [1] and captain Mark Gasnier. The Dragons finished the season in 7th place, however they lost in the first round of the finals to eventual premiers Manly Sea Eagles 34-6 at Brookvale Oval ending a disappointing season. The era under Brown was one of frustration for Dragons fans, as there were high expectations for the strong side, but ultimately no premierships.
Wayne Bennett (2009-present)
2009, a new season a new coach and ground sponsor WIN at Jubilee Oval. Several new faces joined the club, including Jeremy Smith, Darius Boyd, Neville Costigan, Michael Weyman and Luke Priddis. The season opener against the Storm ended in a thrilling golden point extra time loss (17-16). Round 3 set a new crowd record with the victorious return to WIN Jubilee against Cronulla.
They have reached No.1 in the NRL ladder twice. Once was earlier in the 2009 season prior to their loss to Newcastle Knights. The second stretch is current and was for three weeks in a row as at 23 June 2009.
Season Summaries
| Competition | Games Played |
Games Won |
Games Drawn |
Games Lost |
Ladder Position |
P | R | M | F | W | Coach | Captain | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
24 (4) | 15 (3) | 0 (0) | 9 (1) | 6 / 17 |
|
|
Andrew Farrar |
|
|
|||
|
|
26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 9 / 14 |
|
|
||||||
|
|
26 (2) | 12 (1) | 2 (0) | 12 (1) | 7 / 14 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
24 (2) | 9 (1) | 3 | 12 (1) | 7 / 15 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 (0) | 10 / 15 |
|
|
||||||
|
|
24 (1) | 14 (0) | 0 (0) | 10 (1) | 5 / 15 |
|
|
||||||
|
|
24 (2) | 16 (1) | 0 (0) | 8 (1) | 2 / 15 |
|
|
||||||
|
|
24 (3) | 14 (2) | 0 (0) | 10 (1) | 6 / 15 |
|
|
||||||
|
|
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 13 / 16 |
Ben Hornby Jason Ryles |
|
||||||
|
|
24 (1) | 13 | 0 | 11 (1) | 7 / 16 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 1 / 16 | current season |
|
|
|||||
Colours and Jerseys
Colours and Logo
The team colours of the St. George Illawarra Dragons are red and white, colours shared by both the St. George Dragons and Illawarra Steelers. The joint venture's logo was taken directly from that of St George, with the addition of "Illawarra" to the bottom of the emblem. The emblem reflected the rich history of the St George Dragons, including an incredible 11 consecutive premierships, and the future strength of the club with the Illawarra.
The club name Dragons, is a shortened version of Dragonslayers, the original nickname of St George. The emblem features a red shield with a siluette of St. George, overlaid with a white stylised Dragon, with the words "ST. GEORGE" and "ILLAWARRA" above and below the shield respectively. It was originally intended for St George to face right and the Dragon to face left. It is one of the most recognisable logos in Australian sport.
Jerseys
When the St George Illawarra Dragons were formed in 1998, it was decided that the jersey of St George (first used in 1945), the famous "Red V" on white, would become the main jersey for the new club. The red used was changed to the rich red used by the Steelers.
The alternate jersey initially used by the club was red and white horizontal stripes, similar to the original St George Jersey. Since 2006, this Jersey has been reserved for use as the St George Illawarra Heritage Jersey for special occasions. This Jersey is worn during Heritage Round, when the Dragons confront fierce local rivals the Bulldogs RLFC.
In 2004 and 2005, the club used a jersey similar to the Steelers main jersey for heritage matches, acknowledging the rugby league history of the Illawarra region, though not as a full time alternate strip. This jersey was predominantly red with white stripes on the sleeves. Due to the lack of popularity in this jersey, the club has adopted Adidas designed templates during designated Steelers heritage rounds at WIN Stadium against the Canberra Raiders and New Zealand Warriors.
Club Jerseys
|
Main Jersey (1999-) |
 Heritage Jersey (2006-) Alternate (1999-2005) |
Current Squad
- For a squad line up for the next match, see St. George Illawarra Dragons 2009.
The St. George Illawarra Dragons have 31 signed players in First Grade that play in the main competition.
|
|
Home Grounds
The Dragons have two home grounds, reflecting the joint nature of the club;
- WIN Jubilee Oval (1999, 2003 - 07, 2009 - present)
- WIN Stadium (1999 - present)
Half of the Dragons home matches are played at the spiritual home of St George, WIN Jubilee Oval, Carlton, Sydney, the remainder of their matches are played at WIN Stadium, Wollongong, previously the home ground of the Illawara Steelers.
The club has previously played Sydney home games out of the Sydney Football Stadium (2000 - 2002) and ANZ Stadium (2008), due to redevelopment or unavailability of Jubilee Oval.
Stadium Records
|
Highest Attendances at WIN Jubilee Oval
|
Highest Attendances at WIN Stadium
|
Leagues Clubs
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 the Princes Highway at Beverley Park close to the northern home ground of Jubilee Oval at Carlton. Established in 1963, St. George was one of the first Super Leagues clubs developed in the 60's and was commonly referred to as 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 extensive 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.
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 a significant number of the club's 'Red V' memberships are from people in this area. The Dragons also have supporters from all over NSW, with the club receiving record crowds at away games at ANZ Stadium (Stadium Australia) at Sydney Olympic Park. Notably there is also a large Dragons following in Victoria, based around Melbourne and Geelong.[3] 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.
Rivalries
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009) |
Due to St George enjoying great success over the years, the St George Illawarra Dragons have inherited several fierce rivalries, while also creating a few new ones since merging.
Cronulla Sharks
St George Illawarra's fiercest rivalry is with neighbour Cronulla. Cronulla along with Illawarra originally were part of the St George juniors area, and Cronulla has been viewed as St George's "little brother". The Dragons have enjoyed much more success than the Sharks, who remain premiership-less after 42 years. Both clubs have been accused of poaching players from the other, and compete for fans in the same region. In 1999, the Cronulla CEO infamously cut up a St George Jersey after a match at Toyota Stadium. During the Super League war, Cronulla was one of only 3 Sydney teams to join the rival competition, entrenching further spite from Dragons fans.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
St George have won 15 premierships, the Rabbitohs 20. The Rabbitohs and Dragons have met several times in grand finals, and being the northern neighbours of St George, have had many fierce encounters. The most significant match of this rivalry is the Charity Shield, an important pre-season contest.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
St George also has a fierce rivalry with western neighbours, the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs were founded in 1935, 14 years after St George, but enjoyed premiership success first. More recently, both clubs have inflicted Premiership defeats on the other, St George defeating the Bulldogs in their last Grand Final success in 1979, Canterbury returning the favour in 1985. The two sides are rivals in the NRL Heritage Round.
Round 10, 2009 saw a controversial finish to the only home-and-away clash between these two sides, with Jamal Idris denied a try which would have won the Bulldogs a thrilling contest after they had trailed the entire match. The Bulldogs had made a line break on the halfway line when it was found out that Bulldogs player Greg Eastwood has obstructed Dragons five-eighth Jamie Soward when the break was made. The Dragons won that match 20-18. Another notable match played included Round 20, 2008 when the Dragons thrashed the Bulldogs 30-0 in the match which was, for the Bulldogs the first played without Sonny Bill Williams since his walkout on the club that year.
Sydney Roosters
St George has another strong rivalry with the Sydney Roosters. During the 1990s, the Roosters had made secret discussions to merge with the Dragons, with the Dragons jersey and emblem to disapear. Fans were outraged, and the attempt aborted. St George Illawarra annually contests the Club ANZAC Game against the Roosters, since 2002.
Brisbane Broncos
St George and Brisbane contested the 1992 and 1993 Grand Finals, creating a fierce rivalry. It is also noted that the Dragons have the longest winning streak against the Brisbane Broncos than any other club (eight, as of April 2009), across five years. The most recent match saw Wendell Sailor score yet another try at Suncorp Stadium since his return to competitive rugby league following a two-year ban for using recreational drugs.
Club Records
(updated as of 13 March 2009.)
Player Records
|
Most Games for the Dragons
Most Points in a Season
Most Points for the Dragons
Top 5 Try Scorers
|
Top 5 Goal Kickers
Most Tries in a Season
Top 5 Most Points in a Match
|
- (*) Player no longer in the St. George Illawarra team.
Head to Head record
Since the foundation of the St. George Illawarra Dragons, the club has achieved the following Win/Loss Record: [4]
| Games | Wins | Drawn | Loss | Points For | Points Against | +/- | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 248 | 128 | 5 | 115 | 5870 | 5220 | +650 | 52.62% |
|
Biggest Winning Margins
Most Consecutive Wins
Biggest Comeback
|
Biggest Losing Margins
Most Consecutive Loses
Worst Collapse
|
Representative Players
Representative players include players that were selected before or while they played with the St. George Illawarra Dragons.
|
Australia
New Zealand
|
New South Wales
Queensland
|
Coaches and Captains
|
Coaches
|
Captains
|
Sponsorship
|
Major Sponsors
|
Minor (Icon) Sponsors |
All official Dragons merchandise is produced by Adidas.
External links
Official NRL Sites
Fan sites
- Jubilee Avenue- Fan Site
- Dragons History- History of Mighty Dragons
- Return To Kogarah (R2K)
- DragonArmy.com.au - Home of the Mighty Dragon Army (Dragons supporter group)
- Melbourne Based Dragons Supporters
News Items
- Daily Telegraph - St George Illawarra Dragons 2007 season feature
- - St George Illawarra Dragons Statistics and Tables
References
- ^ Webster, Andrew (2008-06-21). "Ryles quits Dragons". Illawarra Mercury. http://illawarra.yourguide.com.au/news/local/sport/rugby-league/ryles-quits-dragons/794116.aspx. Retrieved on 2008-06-21.
- ^ "Wayne Bennett appoints Ben Hornby as captain of St George Illawarra". Fox Sports. 2009-03-05. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,25143006-23214,00.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-05.
- ^ | Melbourne Based Dragons Supporters
- ^ Rugby League Tables / Win-Loss Records / St George Illawarra
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
thank-you
stock | retire | vm
Why are we here?
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
This page is cache of Wikipedia. History