Regarded as the unofficial start to the National Rugby League (NRL) season, the Charity Shield has been in operation since 1982 (with the exception of 2000 and 2001 when Souths were not in the NRL).

Originally consisting of the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the St. George Dragons, the St George Illawarra Dragons took over its former club's duties in 1999. Both teams go head to head in an annual clash three weeks prior to the kickoff of the NRL season.

The winner of the match has the proceeds donated to the charity of their choice.

The match is always shown on national television and in 2002 for the first and only time was screened live on Sky Sports in the UK.

Since its inception in 1982, the Charity Shield has been played on twenty-five occasions. Of these, the Dragons (St George and St George Illawarra) have won 14 times, while South Sydney have triumphed on 8 occasions. The Charity Shield has been drawn three times. Broken down, St George played 17 matches, winning 11; whilst St George Illawarra have played 8 matches since their birth in 1999, winning 3.

The Charity Shield is the only pre season game shown live on TV. This has been the case since Souths were returned to the NRL in 2002. The game can be seen each year on Fox Sports.

[edit] Head To Head

[edit] Games Played

Winner	Score	Loser	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Crowd
St. George Dragons	9-7	South Sydney Rabbitohs	13 February 1982	Redfern Oval	J.Danzey	10,980
St. George Dragons	28-10	South Sydney Rabbitohs	12 February 1983	Redfern Oval	K. Roberts	9,210
South Sydney Rabbitohs	24-6	St. George Dragons	10 March 1984	Redfern Oval	K. Roberts	8,365
St. George Dragons	10-8	South Sydney Rabbitohs	10 March 1985	Redfern Oval	K. Roberts	8,022
St. George Dragons	12-0	South Sydney Rabbitohs	15 February 1986	Redfern Oval	M. Stone	10,164
St. George Dragons	28-14	South Sydney Rabbitohs	7 February 1987	Redfern Oval	G. O'Donnell	10,724
South Sydney Rabbitohs	30-6	St. George Dragons	20 February 1988	Redfern Oval		9,678
South Sydney Rabbitohs	20-16	St. George Dragons	25 February 1989	Sydney Football Stadium	B. Harrigan	10,491
South Sydney Rabbitohs	10-10	St. George Dragons	9 February 1990	Sydney Football Stadium		12,791
South Sydney Rabbitohs	16-16	St. George Dragons	2 February 1991	Sydney Football Stadium	B. Harrigan	12,543
South Sydney Rabbitohs	21-20	St. George Dragons	1 February 1992	Sydney Football Stadium	G.Annesley	18,120
St. George Dragons	10-8	South Sydney Rabbitohs	30 January 1993	Sydney Football Stadium		18,231
St. George Dragons	14-11	South Sydney Rabbitohs	29 January 1994	Sydney Football Stadium		19,266
St. George Dragons	18-10	South Sydney Rabbitohs	28 January 1995	Sydney Football Stadium		15,643
St. George Dragons	30-6	South Sydney Rabbitohs	17 February 1996	Sydney Football Stadium	K. Jeffes	8,920
St. George Dragons	26-18	South Sydney Rabbitohs	15 February 1997	Sydney Football Stadium	P. Simpkins	10,242
St. George Dragons	14-4	South Sydney Rabbitohs	21 February 1998	Sydney Football Stadium	B. Harrigan	28,310
South Sydney Rabbitohs	16-14	St George Illawarra Dragons	20 February 1999	Sydney Cricket Ground	B. Harrigan	19,250
South Sydney Rabbitohs	20-20	St George Illawarra Dragons	16 February 2002	Sydney Football Stadium	B. Harrigan	36,804
St George Illawarra Dragons	28-10	South Sydney Rabbitohs	15 February 2003	Aussie Stadium	S. Hampstead	20,834
St George Illawarra Dragons	34-8	South Sydney Rabbitohs	14 February 2004	Aussie Stadium		21,513
South Sydney Rabbitohs	30-6	St George Illawarra Dragons	2005	Aussie Stadium		20,481
South Sydney Rabbitohs	14-12	St George Illawarra Dragons	18 February 2006	Telstra Stadium	S. Clark	24,556
St George Illawarra Dragons	16-14	South Sydney Rabbitohs	3 March 2007	Telstra Stadium	S. Hayne	23,053
South Sydney Rabbitohs	24-20	St George Illawarra Dragons	1 March 2008	ANZ Stadium	T. Archer	25,127
South Sydney Rabbitohs	18-6	St George Illawarra Dragons	28 February 2009	ANZ Stadium	B. Cummins/T. Archer	25,871

[edit] Biggest wins

[edit] Most points scored in a game by a winning side

[edit] Most points scored in a game by a losing side

[edit] Most points scored in a game

[edit] Least points scored in a game

[edit] References

• Sydney competitions
• Charity Shield - Darryl's Rugby League Page
• Rabbitohs South Sydney Rabbitohs