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The St George Dragons were an Australian rugby league club that has, since 1999, formed half of the merged St. George Illawarra Dragons team of the National Rugby League. St George are still represented as a stand alone entity at a junior level, with teams representing the district in the Harold Matthews Cup (under 16's) and the S.G. Ball Cup (under 18's). Entering the New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921, the St. George club won 15 premierships, including 11 in succession between 1956 and 1966, a record for sporting competitions at the time. The Dragons thus became second to only the South Sydney Rabbitohs in terms of total premierships won in the NSW Rugby Football League. Following the Super League war and formation of the NRL, the club merged with the Illawarra Steelers in 1998, forming the St. George Illawarra Dragons. The merged entity first fielded a side in the NRL competition in 1999, and that year also reached the grand final.
[edit] History[edit] Formative Years
Undeterred, St George Rugby League Football Club finally took form in 1910 when a team played in the Sydney 3rd Grade Competition. This first historic game took place against Newtown at Sans Souci and St George were victorious 36-0. With the demise of Annandale Rugby League Club, St George was successful in November 1920 in petitioning the NSWRL for promotion. In February 1921 at the Kogarah School of Arts, the St George District Rugby League Club came into being. The first President was Arthur Jager, with Joe McGrath chosen as Secretary and Arthur Moynow named Treasurer. The club's inaugural captain was dual-cide rugby international Herb Gilbert.[1] [edit] 1930s-40sIn 1935 the "Dragon Slayers" as they were then known defeated Canterbury 91-6, still the biggest win in the Club's history. The long wait was over when in 1941 St George defeated Eastern Suburbs 31-14 at the Sydney Cricket Ground to take their first First Grade Premiership. All three grades reached the Grand Finals in 1942 with the 3rd grade side victorious. Saints were runners up again in 1946, losing 14-12 to Balmain. They were premiers for the second time in 1949, beating South Sydney 19-12. [edit] 1950sSt George Football Club came of age in the 1950s. A move from Hurstville Oval to Kogarah Oval saw St George take on Souths before a crowd of 12,500 fans in their inaugural match at the ground. Due to its close proximity to Kogarah Oval, the Carlton Hotel became the local watering hole for the players after training. In 1953 the first St George Leagues Club was built on the corner of Princes Highway & Rocky Point Road. This Club was to become the site of many victory celebrations over the next 10 years. In 1956 St George began their reign as Premiers. This reign would last until 1966 and would cover an unprecedented 11 victories. Names like Provan, Langlands, Gasnier, Raper and Smith would become household names. The 1959 team remained unbeaten throughout the season. [edit] 1960sIn 1963, a photo titled "The Gladiators" became an icon when Saint's Norm Provan and West's Captain Arthur Summons exhibited wonderful sportsmanship after St George defeated Wests 9-6 in one of the muddiest Grand Finals ever. On the afternoon of August 24, 1963 Saints won the Grand Final in all three grades
1963 saw the opening of the now famous Taj Mahal. This modern Leagues Club became the hub of social life in the district. St George set another record in 1965 when a crowd of 78, 056 football supporters packed the SCG to see them take on Souths. 1965 saw the tally reach 10 premierships for the dragons On 18 September 1966 St George won their world-record 11th straight premiership, defeating Balmain 23-4.[2] [edit] 1970sIn the 70's, Goodwin, Edge, Beath, Rocket Reddy were now the names St George supporters had on their lips. During 1970, St George became the first club in any code of Football to provide three International Captains in the same season - Graeme Langlands, Phil Hawthorne and Billy Smith. A year of injuries in 1974 saw St George miss the semi finals for the first time in 23 years. In 1975, Graeme "Changa" Langlands wore white boots in the Grand Final against Easts. Langlands had problems with a groin injury and although he battled on relying strongly on pain killers, St George were defeated 38-0. A record loss in a Grand Final until 2008's Grand Final when Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles defeated Melbourne Storm 40-0 . In 1977, St George met Parramatta in a thrilling Grand Final, which went into 20 minutes of extra time. Nerves were felt amongst players, officials and supporters. It was the first time Rugby League had a drawn Grand Final. The game was locked at 9-9 and a rematch was scheduled for the next week. In the rematch St George proved too strong, defeating Parramatta 22-0. 1977 was also Saints best year financially. The crowd average was over 19,000 and Kogarah Oval was about to be updated. 1978 was the year the St George Secretary Frank Facer died with cancer. In 1979, Saints got back into the swing of things and won the Grand Final against Canterbury 17-13. As it turned out this would be the last Premiership St George would win to this day. [edit] 1980sIn 1985, Saints were represented in all three Grades. After winning both the lower grades, Saints were defeated in First Grade by Canterbury 7-6. At the end of this year, plans to build a new stand were deferred. A decision to move from Kogarah to the SCG had supporters and even some officials very disheartened. In 1986, with the SCG as their new home ground, Saints missed the semi finals in all three grades for the first time in 50 years. A decision was made at the end of 1987 to move St George from the SCG to Belmore in 1988 with the hope of returning to Kogarah Jubilee Oval at a later stage. In 1989, Saints appointed former player Geoff Carr as secretary of club[3] and also returned home to Kogarah Jubilee Oval. A new Grand Stand was built in 1990. [edit] 1990sThe 90's saw St George on a roller-coaster ride. They made the Grand Final in 1992, 1993 and 1996, but were unable to take a Premiership. In 1995, after exploring the possibility of a merger with the Roosters in an attempt to match the turnover of the all-conquering Brisbane Broncos, cheif executive Geoff Carr was sacked by his board.[4] After the 1998 season was complete, the formation of the competition's first Joint Venture team occurred when St George joined with the Illawarra Steelers to form the St George Illawarra Dragons. [edit] Records[edit] Club
[edit] Individual
[edit] Players Of Note[edit] Australian Rugby League's Team of the Century
[edit] Australian rugby league's 100 greatest players[edit] Internationals while at St.GeorgeSee also: All Time Player List [edit] Coaching Register
[edit] District JuniorsThe St George junior district covers an area of southern Sydney from Cooks River and the M5 Motorway in the north, Botany Bay to the east, Salt Pan Creek to the west, and the Georges River to the south. Current St George junior clubs are:
[edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
[edit] External links
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