2009 St. George Illawarra Dragons season

2009 St. George Illawarra Dragons
League 1st NRL
2009 record 26-17-9
Home record 13-10-3
Away record 13-7-6
Points for 570
Points against 378
Team information
CEO Peter Doust
Coach Wayne Bennett
Captain Ben Hornby
Ground WIN Jubilee Oval

WIN Stadium
Top scorers
Tries Brett Morris (25)
Goals Jamie Soward (90)
Points Jamie Soward (234)
 < 2008 2010 > 

The 2009 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was 11th in the joint venture Rugby League club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership under new coach Wayne Bennett and finished the season as minor premiers. However a series of losses late in the season saw them become the first minor premiers to bow out of the McIntyre System with two consecutive losses in the finals.

Contents

Season Summary

Coming off a 2008 Qualifying Final loss to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and with a new Coach in the office being Wayne Bennett, the Dragons signed a number of new players but lost just as many. The Dragons were hoping to improve the previous years Qualifying Final loss, by making it even further this year. Five Toyota Cup players of 2008 have been promoted to the First Grade squad with more talented juniors rising through the ranks within the club.

St. George led the competition in defence in 2009 and finished the season with the minor premiership, the club's first. Their strong performance also led to new records for home match attendances at WIN Jubilee Oval.

St George exited the finals series in the second week of the finals.

Pre Season

Date Round Opponent Venue Score Attendance Report
14 February Trial Sydney Roosters Members Equity Stadium, Perth 54 – 6 9,832 [1]
21 February Mercury Challenge Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs WIN Stadium, Wollongong 24 – 12 7,628 [2]
28 February Charity Shield South Sydney Rabbitohs ANZ Stadium, Sydney 6 – 18 25,871 [3]
Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw

Regular Season

Date Round Opponent Venue Score Attendance Report
13 March 1 Melbourne Storm Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne 16 – 17 14,870 [4]
21 March 2 Gold Coast Titans WIN Stadium, Wollongong 16 – 10 13,329 [5]
29 March 3 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah 10 – 6 20,847 [6]
3 April 4 Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane 25 – 12 42,435 [7]
10 April 5 Parramatta Eels Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta 22 – 8 19,017 [8]
18 April 6 Newcastle Knights WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah 18 – 24 14,477 [9]
25 April 7 Sydney Roosters Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney 29 – 0 28,926 [10]
3 May 8 New Zealand Warriors WIN Stadium, Wollongong 12 – 11 14,562 [11]
9 May 9 North Queensland Cowboys Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville 20 – 24 16,031 [12]
15 May 10 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah 20 – 18 18,415 [13]
23 May 11 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Toyota Stadium, Cronulla 26 – 4 15,201 [14]
29 May 12 Penrith Panthers WIN Stadium, Wollongong 38 – 10 10,623 [15]
8 June 13 Gold Coast Titans Skilled Park, Gold Coast 24 – 28 20,416 [16]
14 June 14 North Queensland Cowboys WIN Stadium, Wollongong 32 – 18 11,374 [17]
15
26 June 16 Wests Tigers Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney 21 – 10 15,211 [18]
3 July 17 Sydney Roosters WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah 34 – 12 12,472 [19]
12 July 18 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles WIN Stadium, Wollongong 48 – 18 16,792 [20]
19
26 July 20 New Zealand Warriors Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland 29 – 4 13,507 [21]
31 July 21 Melbourne Storm WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah 26 – 12 16,474 [22]
7 August 22 Penrith Panthers Penrith Stadium, Penrith 25 – 6 19,987 [23]
15 August 23 Canberra Raiders Canberra Stadium, Canberra 12 – 24 17,044 [24]
21 August 24 Brisbane Broncos WIN Stadium, Wollongong 2 – 12 14,740 [25]
29 August 25 South Sydney Rabbitohs ANZ Stadium, Sydney 6 – 41 19,218 [26]
4 September 26 Parramatta Eels WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah 37 – 0 17,974 [27]
Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw       Bye

Finals

Date Round Opponent Venue Score Attendance Report
13 September Qualifying Final Parramatta Eels WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah 12 – 25 18,174 [28]
19 September Semi Final Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane 10 – 24 50,225 [29]
Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw

2009 NRL Ladder

Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 St. George Illawarra 24 17 0 7 2 548 329 +219 38
2 Bulldogs 24 18 0 6 2 575 428 +147 38*
3 Gold Coast 24 16 0 8 2 514 467 +47 36
4 Melbourne 24 14 1 9 2 505 348 +157 33
5 Manly-Warringah 24 14 0 10 2 549 439 +90 32
6 Brisbane 24 14 0 10 2 511 566 −55 32
7 Newcastle 24 13 0 11 2 508 491 +17 30
8 Parramatta 24 12 1 11 2 476 473 +3 29
9 Wests Tigers 24 12 0 12 2 558 483 +75 28
10 South Sydney 24 11 1 12 2 566 549 +17 27
11 Penrith 24 11 1 12 2 515 589 −74 27
12 North Queensland 24 11 0 13 2 558 474 +84 26
13 Canberra 24 9 0 15 2 489 510 −31 22
14 New Zealand 24 7 2 15 2 377 545 −188 20
15 Cronulla-Sutherland 24 5 0 19 2 359 568 −209 14
16 Sydney Roosters 24 5 0 19 2 382 681 −299 14

* Bulldogs stripped of 2 competition points after an interchange breach in round 2

Squad

No. Position Player
FB Darius Boyd
CE Matt Cooper
SR Neville Costigan
SR Ben Creagh
CE Nick Emmett
HK Daniel Fepuleai
PR Jon Green
HB Mathew Head
HB Ben Hornby
PR Dan Hunt
WG Michael Lett
WG Brett Morris
WG Jason Nightingale
SR Mickey Paea
No. Position Player
PR Justin Poore
HK Luke Priddis
PR Matt Prior
HK Alex Ranieri
SR Jarrod Saffy
WG Wendell Sailor
PR Beau Scott
SR Jeremy Smith
FE Jamie Soward
CE Chase Stanley
PR Ricky Thorby
PR Michael Weyman
LK Dean Young
HK Nathan Fien

Transfers

Gains

Player Gained From
Darius Boyd Brisbane Broncos
Neville Costigan Canberra Raiders
Nick Emmett Brisbane Broncos
Nathan Fien New Zealand Warriors
Mathew Head Wests Tigers
Mickey Paea Sydney Roosters
Luke Priddis Penrith Panthers
Jeremy Smith Melbourne Storm
Michael Weyman Canberra Raiders

Losses

Player Lost To
Rangi Chase Castleford Tigers
Mark Gasnier Stade Français
Josh Morris Canterbury Bulldogs
Kirk Reynoldson Retirement
Ben Rogers Newcastle Knights
Jason Ryles Catalans Dragons
Lagi Setu Brisbane Broncos
Simon Woolford Retirement

References