St. George Illawarra Dragons

Club information
Full name	St George Illawarra Rugby League Football Club
Nickname(s)	Saints, Red V, Red and Whites, The Mighties, Dragons and Redys and Whiteys
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	1 (2009)
Wooden spoons	0 (0)
Most capped	201 - Ben Hornby
Most points	517 - Mark Riddell

The St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football club. They 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 1 History 1.1 David Waite and Andrew Farrar (1999-2002) 1.2 Nathan Brown era (2003-2008) 1.3 Wayne Bennett (2009-present) 2 Season Summaries 3 Colours and Jerseys 3.1 Colours and Logo 3.2 Jerseys 4 Current squad 5 Representative players 6 Home Grounds 7 Leagues Clubs 8 Supporters 9 Rivalries 9.1 Cronulla Sharks 9.2 South Sydney Rabbitohs 9.3 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 9.4 Sydney Roosters 9.5 Brisbane Broncos 10 Club Records 10.1 Player Records 10.2 Head to Head record 11 Representative Players 12 Coaches and Captains 13 Sponsorship 14 External links 15 References

[edit] 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.

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 most of the 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. WIN Corp can only sell their stake back to the Steelers, should they wish to withdraw their involvement, thus ensuring Illawarra are properly represented in the joint venture.

[edit] 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 though they had a rough start and were quoted to "suck, 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. On May 3 to the surprise and shock of fans and club officials, Anthony Mundine announced his retirement from the club and rugby league in general with immediate effect to pursue a career in boxing. 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.

[edit] Nathan Brown era (2003-2008)

In 2003, Nathan Brown, the joint venture's 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. Nathan Brown was also involved in a sideline incident when he had slapped Trent Barrett in Wollongong during a game against Manly, and was issued a $5000 fine. 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, St George faced Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium in the first round, the Dragons won the game 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.

[edit] 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 were consistently placed first on the competition ladder in 2009, contributed by a continuous winning streak of seven games since their win against the North Queensland Cowboys on June 14. They lost first position after a three-game losing streak while the Canterbury Bulldogs won all games in that period, but remain in the top three. However, in the final round of the 2009 regular season, St. George Illawarra defeated in-form Parramatta Eels 37-0, a game in which winger Brett Morris obtained a hat-trick and man of the match honours, while the Bulldogs lost 34-12 to the Wests Tigers. In the same game, St. George Illawarra five-eighth Jamie Soward surpassed Harry Bath's record for most points in a season by a St. George player. As a result, the Dragons won the minor premiership for the 2009 and Wayne Bennett's first season at the club, although the team was eliminated from the finals after losing both their finals matches.

[edit] Season Summaries

P=Premiers, R=Runners-Ups, M=Minor Premierships, F=Finals Appearance, W=Wooden Spoons
(Brackets Represent Finals Games)

Competition	Games Played	Games Won	Games Drawn	Games Lost	Ladder Position	P	R	M	F	W	Coach	Captain	Notes
1999 NRL Season	24 (4)	15 (3)	0	9 (1)	6 / 17		X		X		David Waite Andrew Farrar	Paul McGregor	Runners Up
2000 NRL Season	26	12	0	14	9 / 14							Craig Smith	Barrett receives Dally M medal
2001 NRL Season	26 (2)	12 (1)	2	12 (1)	7 / 14				X		Andrew Farrar		Ainscough and Barrett represent NSW
2002 NRL Season	24 (2)	9 (1)	3	12 (1)	7 / 15				X			Trent Barrett	Barrett new captain
2003 NRL Season	24	11	0	13	10 / 15						Nathan Brown		Nathan Brown becomes coach
2004 NRL Season	24 (1)	14	0	10 (1)	5 / 15				X				Dragons have a 24 point comeback
2005 NRL Season	24 (2)	16 (1)	0	8 (1)	2 / 15				X				Gasnier Centre of the year
2006 NRL Season	24 (3)	14 (2)	0	10 (1)	6 / 15				X				Gasnier Centre of the year
2007 NRL Season	24	9	0	15	13 / 16							Mark Gasnier Ben Hornby Jason Ryles	Sign Jamie Soward
2008 NRL Season	24 (1)	13	0	11 (1)	7 / 16				X			Mark Gasnier	Nathan Brown not renewed as coach for 2009
2009 NRL Season	24 (2)	17	0	7 (2)	1 / 16			X	X		Wayne Bennett	Ben Hornby[2]	Minor Premiers

[edit] Colours and Jerseys

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 scarlet tone used by the Steelers.

The alternate jersey initially used by the club was red and white horizontal stripes, similar to the 1921 St George Jersey known as the "blood and bandages". 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. With Adidas producing the club's official merchandise from 2006, a generic Adidas design - predominantly red with three white stripes down the sleeves - was adopted as the full time alternate strip; before another re-design in 2008, which better reflected the old Steelers jersey. Reebok will produce supporter and team kits from the 2010 season.

Club Jerseys

Main Jersey (1999-)

Heritage Jersey (2006-)

Alternate Jersey (2006-)

[edit] Current squad

• For a squad line up for the next match, see St. George Illawarra Dragons 2010.

The St. George Illawarra Dragons have 29 signed players in First Grade that play in the main competition.

No. Position Player PR Jack Bosden FB Darius Boyd CE Matt Cooper SR Neville Costigan SR Ben Creagh CE Nick Emmett HK Daniel Fepuleai HK Nathan Fien PR Jon Green PR Michael Greenfield HB Ben Hornby (captain) PR Dan Hunt WG Michael Lett SR Jake Marketo PR Trent Merrin

No. Position Player WG Brett Morris WG Jason Nightingale SR Junior Paulo HK Luke Priddis SR Matt Prior FB Henry Raiwalui SR Jarrod Saffy CE Beau Scott LK Jeremy Smith FE Jamie Soward WG Peni Tagive PR Ricky Thorby PR Michael Weyman HK Dean Young

[edit] Representative players

[edit] Home Grounds

The Dragons have two home grounds, reflecting the joint nature of the club;

• Jubilee Oval (1999, 2003-07, 2009 - present)
• Wollongong Showground (1999 - present)

Half of the Dragons home matches are played at the home of the St George Dragons, Jubilee Oval, in Carlton, while the remainder of their home matches are played at the Wollongong Showground, previously the home ground of the Illawarra Steelers.

The club has previously played Sydney home games out of the Sydney Football Stadium (2000-2002) and Stadium Australia (2008), due to redevelopment or unavailability of Jubilee Oval.

Stadium Records

Highest Attendances at WIN Jubilee Oval Crowd Against Date 20,847 Dragons v Sharks 29 Mar 2009 18,415 Dragons v Bulldogs 15 May 2009 18,223 Dragons v Bulldogs 14 Jul 2006 17,974 Dragons v Eels 4 Sep 2009 17,523 Dragons v Eels 21 Aug 2005

Highest Attendances at WIN Stadium Crowd Against Date 19,608 Dragons v Sharks 10 Sep 2005 19,512 Dragons v Roosters 29 Jun 2005 19,501 Dragons v Bulldogs 28 Jul 2007 18,932 Dragons v Panthers 18 Apr 2004 18,382 Dragons v Rabbitohs 11 Aug 2007

[edit] 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 marble 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. Established in 1990, the club has struggled financially against much larger and more popular leagues clubs in Wollongong, such as Collegians, Dapto Leagues Club, Wests Illawarra Leagues Club, and Shellharbour Workers Club in Shellharbour. However, after a major restructure of its operations, the Steelers Club has trading profitably over the last 12 months. Twenty percent of the club premises were sold to Bermuda based Billionaire and owner of WIN Corp Bruce Gordon. The sale fetched 2.6 million dollars ^[3].

[edit] 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.^[4] It is understood that the club receives support from NRL fans in other states as well, mostly due to the Dragons' world famous run of eleven consecutive premierships in the 1950s and 1960s.

Notable supporters

• John Howard - former Prime Minister of Australia^[5]
• Mark Latham - former Leader of the Opposition^[6]
• Robert McClelland - Attorney-General of Australia^[6]

[edit] Rivalries

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 forming the joint venture.

[edit] 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".[2] Until their merger with Illawarra, the Dragons had enjoyed 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.

[edit] South Sydney Rabbitohs

St George won 15 premierships, the Rabbitohs 20. The Rabbitohs and Dragons have met several times in grand finals, and being the north-eastern 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.[3]

[edit] Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

St George also has a fierce rivalry with 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.[4] 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. Jamal Idris was denied a try which would have won the game for the Bulldogs after they had trailed the entire match. The Bulldogs had made a line break on the halfway line following an offload by Bryson Goodwin, only for the try to be disallowed as Greg Eastwood had obstructed Dragons five-eighth Jamie Soward when the line break was made, St George winning 20-18.

[edit] 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 disappear. Fans were outraged, and the attempt aborted. St George Illawarra annually contests the Club ANZAC Game against the Roosters, a tradition dating back to the 1970s, but has been contested regularly since 2002.[5]

[edit] Brisbane Broncos

St George and Brisbane contested the 1992 and 1993 Grand Finals, creating a fierce rivalry (see New South Wales Rugby League season 1993). 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. With former Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett at the helm of St George Illawarra, and Wendell Sailor, a popular face in the NRL and a former bronco, the rivalry only increased. In 2009, the Dragons defeated the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium early, and were then beaten in Wollongong by the broncos later on in the season. One game a piece, the two sides met up in Brisbane in the finals. Where they lost to the Broncos 24-10

[edit] Club Records

(updated as of 13 March 2009.)

[edit] Player Records

Most Games for the Dragons Player Games Ben Hornby 201 Matt Cooper 180 Jason Ryles* 156 Mark Gasnier* 141 Trent Barrett* 134 Most Points in a Season Player Points Games Year Tries Goals F/G Jamie Soward 234 26 2009 12 90 6 Mark Riddell* 166 24 2003 7 69 0 Wayne Bartrim* 162 25 1999 5 79 0 Aaron Gorrell* 134  ?? 2006 6 55 0 Most Points for the Dragons Player Points Tries Goals F/G Mark Riddell* 517 30 198 1 Jamie Soward 468 24 182 6 Nathan Blacklock* 428 100 14 0 Wayne Bartrim* 374 8 171 0 Mark Gasnier* 372 81 26 0 Top 5 Try Scorers Player Tries Games Nathan Blacklock* 100 114 Matt Cooper 90 180 Mark Gasnier* 80 141 Ben Hornby 50 201 Trent Barrett* 47 193

Top 5 Goal Kickers Player Goals Mark Riddell* 198 Jamie Soward 182 Wayne Bartrim* 171 Mathew Head 95 Aaron Gorrell* 94 Most Tries in a Season Player Tries Games Year Nathan Blacklock* 27 28 2001 Nathan Blacklock* 25 26 2000 Nathan Blacklock* 24 16 1999 Brett Morris 24 22 2009 Colin Best* 20 26 2005 Lee Hookey* 18 25 2002 Top 5 Most Points in a Match Player Points Tries Goals F/G Amos Roberts* 22 1 9 0 Jamie Soward 22 1 9 0 Jamie Soward 21 2 6 1 Jamie Soward 20 1 8 0 Aaron Gorrell* 20 1 8 0

• (*) Player no longer in the St. George Illawarra team.

[edit] Head to Head record

Since the foundation of the St. George Illawarra Dragons, the club has achieved the following Win/Loss Record:^[7]

Games	Wins	Drawn	Loss	Points For	Points Against	+/-	Win %
248	128	5	115	5870	5220	+650	52.62%

Biggest Winning Margins Margin Score Opponent Venue Date 54 54-0 Auckland Warriors WIN Stadium 6 May 2000 50 50-0 Wests Tigers Jubilee Oval 20 June 2004 46 50-4 Melbourne Storm WIN Stadium 4 June 2000 46 48-2 Newcastle Knights WIN Stadium 4 April 2004 Most Consecutive Wins 8 - (17 July 2005 - 10 September 2005) 7 - (17 May 2008 - 5 July 2008) 7 - (14 June 2009 - 7 August 2009) Biggest Comeback Trailed Manly 34-10 after 57 minutes to win 36-34 at Jubilee Stadium (19 August 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 Loses 5 - (5 September 2004 - 2 April 2005) 5 - (14 July - 13 August 2006) 5 - (23 March - 30 April 2007) 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 (16 July 2004) Led the Bulldogs 14-0 after 36 minutes to lose 28-24 at WIN Stadium (28 July 2007)

[edit] Representative Players

Representative players include players that were selected before or while they played with the St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Australia Mark Coyne (1995 - 1997) Trent Barrett (1997 - 2005) Shaun Timmins (1999 - 2004) Mark Gasnier (2001 - 2008) Nathan Blacklock (2001) Jason Ryles (2002 - 2005) Luke Bailey (2003 - 2007) Matt Cooper (2004 - 2006) Ben Creagh (2005) Darius Boyd (2009) New Zealand Craig Smith (1999-2001) Chase Stanley (2007 - ) Jason Nightingale (2008 - ) Jeremy Smith (2009)

New South Wales Jamie Ainscough (1996 - 2001) Trent Barrett (1997 - 2005) Anthony Mundine (1999) Shaun Timmins (2000 - 2004) Mark Gasnier (2001 - 2008) Jason Ryles (2002 - 2005) Luke Bailey (2002 - 2007) Brent Kite (2004 - 2007) Ben Hornby (2004 - 2008) Matt Cooper (2004 - 2008) Ben Creagh (2009) Michael Weyman (2009) Justin Poore (2009) Queensland Wayne Bartrim (1995 - 1998) Craig Smith (1997) Mark Coyne (1990 - 1999) Darius Boyd (2009) Neville Costigan (2009)

[edit] Coaches and Captains

Coaches David Waite 1999 - 2000 Andrew Farrar 1999 - 2002 Nathan Brown 2003 - 2008 Wayne Bennett 2009 - (contract ends 2011)

Captains Mark Coyne 1999 Paul McGregor 1999 Craig Smith 2000 - 2001 Nathan Brown 2001 Trent Barrett 2002 - 2006 Ben Hornby 2007, 2009 - present Mark Gasnier 2007 - 2008

[edit] Sponsorship

Major Sponsors St. George Bank (Major Sponsor) Reebok (Jersey Supplier) Southern Cross Construction (Sleeve Sponsor) International Game Technology (Shorts Sponsor) Cellarbrations Liquor ("Back of Jersey" Sponsor)

Minor (Icon) Sponsors Telstra Bundaberg Rum WIN Corporation Coca-Cola VB Tynan Motors

Illawarra Mercury Arrive Alive SX Projects Crystal Bears i98 FM Coastwide

All official Dragons merchandise is produced by Reebok as of 2010.

[edit] External links

Official NRL Sites

• Dragons Official site
• NRL Official site
• Dragons NRL site

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

[edit] References

v • d • e St. George Illawarra Dragons Est. 1999 in Sydney and Wollongong, New South Wales The Club History (St. George Dragons · Illawarra Steelers) · Records · Players · Coaches Home Grounds Wollongong Showground · Jubilee Oval Culture Charity Shield · ANZAC Game Important Figures Ben Hornby · Wayne Bennett League National Rugby League Seasons (11) 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 2010 · 2011 · 2012 · 2013 · 2014 · 2015 · 2016 · 2017 · 2018 · 2019 Other Competitions Current: National Youth Competition · New South Wales Cup Past: Jersey Flegg Cup Affiliations Shellharbour Marlins (Shellharbour City Dragons)

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