2010 St. George Illawarra Dragons season

2010 St. George Illawarra Dragons
NRL Champions
League 1st NRL
2010 record 27-20-7
Home record 12-9-3
Away record 15-11-4
Points for 591
Points against 319
Team information
CEO Australia Peter Doust
Coach Australia Wayne Bennett
Assistant Coach Australia Steve Price
Captain Australia Ben Hornby
Ground

WIN Jubilee Oval

WIN Stadium
Top scorers
Tries Brett Morris (20)
Goals Jamie Soward (84)
Points Jamie Soward (197)
 < 2009 2011 > 

The 2010 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the 12th in the joint venture club's history. They competed in the National Rugby League's 2010 Telstra Premiership, securing their second successive minor premiership and becoming the only team to be awarded the J. J. Giltinan Shield consecutively since the NRL was formed in 1998. The Dragons went on to compete in the 2010 NRL Grand Final, defeating the Sydney Roosters to gain the club's first premiership since their formation in 1999.

Season summary

Restarting their ambitions of a maiden Premiership, the Dragons began the 2010 season without dual international Wendell Sailor after the winger announced his retirement during the pre-season.[1] The Dragons had been competition favourites since day one of the 2010 season, and for all but three rounds of the entire regular season were on top of the ladder (the Sydney Roosters were on top after rounds 1 and 2 and the Melbourne Storm were on top after round 4, when they defeated the Dragons 17-4).

In the regular season of 2010, the Dragons lost only seven matches, against Melbourne in round 4, Manly in round 9, Canberra in rounds 11 and 24, Penrith in round 17, the Gold Coast in overtime in round 20 and Brisbane in round 21. The Dragons built their season on defence and when they finished the regular season, they became only the 2nd team in the NRL to concede less than 300 points in a season. 299 points were scored against them at an average of 12.4 points per game. The St George Illawarra Dragons headed into the week one of the finals and had a great victory against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles winning 28 - 0. After the week off the St George Illawarra Dragons faced the Wests Tigers in the preliminary final and won 13 - 12. The Dragons then faced the Sydney Roosters in the NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final and despite trailing 6-8 at halftime they scored 26 unanswered points in a wet second half to win 32-8 and secure the first NRL Premiership for the joint venture.

A major coup for the club was the re-signing of former captain and star centre Mark Gasnier following his stint in French rugby union.

Pre-season

Date Round Opponent Venue Score Attendance Report
14 FebruaryTrial Parramatta EelsMembers Equity Stadium, Perth34 – 209,450
20 FebruaryMercury Challenge Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsWIN Stadium, Wollongong16 – 14
27 FebruaryCharity Shield South Sydney RabbitohsANZ Stadium, Sydney26 – 2627,221
Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw

Regular season

Date Round Opponent Venue Score Attendance Report
12 March1 Parramatta EelsParramatta Stadium, Parramatta18 – 1218,293
19 March2 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsWIN Stadium, Wollongong26 – 616,177
26 March3 North Queensland CowboysWIN Stadium, Wollongong33 – 813,267
2 April4 Melbourne StormEtihad Stadium, Melbourne4 – 1725,480
9 April5 Brisbane BroncosWIN Stadium, Wollongong34 – 1615,374
16 April6 Gold Coast TitansSkilled Park, Gold Coast19 – 621,336
25 April7 Sydney RoostersSydney Football Stadium, Sydney28 – 636,212
1 May8 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksWIN Stadium, Wollongong38 – 015,779
8 May9 Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesBrookvale Oval, Manly6 – 2416,745
14 May10 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsANZ Stadium, Sydney19 – 637,773
23 May11 Canberra RaidersWIN Stadium, Wollongong14 – 2214,728
28 May12 Parramatta EelsWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah30 – 015,068
6 June13 New Zealand WarriorsMount Smart Stadium, Auckland22 – 208,312
14
20 June15 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksToyota Stadium, Cronulla22 – 416,773
25 June16 Wests TigersWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah34 – 1016,574
5 July17 Penrith PanthersWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah8 – 1212,974
18
16 July19 South Sydney RabbitohsANZ Stadium, Sydney16 – 1322,368
23 July20 Gold Coast TitansWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah10 – 1112,688
1 August21 Brisbane BroncosSuncorp Stadium, Brisbane6 – 1042,269
8 August22 Sydney RoostersSydney Cricket Ground, Sydney19 – 1237,994
16 August23 Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah32 – 1014,740
22 August24 Canberra RaidersCanberra Stadium, Canberra16 – 3220,445
28 August25 Newcastle KnightsEnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle26 – 1823,148
5 September26 South Sydney RabbitohsWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah38 – 2418,274
Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw       Bye

Finals

Date Round Opponent Venue Score Attendance Report
12 SeptemberQualifying Final Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah28 – 015,574
25 SeptemberPreliminary Final Wests TigersANZ Stadium, Sydney13 – 1271,212
3 OctoberGrand Final Sydney RoostersANZ Stadium, Sydney32 – 882,334
Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw

2010 NRL Ladder

    		 Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
    1 St. George Illawarra Dragons 2417072518299+21938
    2 Penrith Panthers 2415092645489+15634
    3 Wests Tigers 2415092537503+3434
    4 Gold Coast Titans 2415092520498+2234
    5 New Zealand Warriors 24140102539486+5332
    6 Sydney Roosters 24140102559510+4932
    7 Canberra Raiders 24130112499493+630
    8 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 24120122545510+3528
    9 South Sydney Rabbitohs 24110132584567+1726
    10 Brisbane Broncos 24110132508535−2726
    11 Newcastle Knights 24100142499569−7024
    12 Parramatta Eels 24100142413491−7824
    13 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2490152494539−4522
    14 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2470172354609−25518
    15 North Queensland Cowboys 2450192425667−24214
    16 Melbourne Storm 24140102489363+12601

    1 Melbourne were deducted eight premiership points and barred from receiving premiership points for the rest of the season due to gross long-term salary cap breaches.[2]

    Squad

    No. Position Player
    1 Australia FB Darius Boyd
    2 Australia WG Brett Morris
    3 Australia CE Matt Cooper
    4 Australia CE Mark Gasnier
    5 New Zealand WG Jason Nightingale
    6 Australia FE Jamie Soward (GK)
    7 Australia HB Ben Hornby
    8 Australia PR Dan Hunt
    9 Australia HK Dean Young (VC)
    10 Australia PR Michael Weyman
    11 Australia SR Beau Scott
    12 Australia SR Ben Creagh
    13 New Zealand LK Jeremy Smith
    No. Position Player
    New Zealand HK Nathan Fien
    Papua New Guinea SR Neville Costigan
    Australia SR Matt Prior
    South Africa SR Jarrod Saffy
    Australia PR Trent Merrin
    Australia PR Michael Greenfield
    Australia CE Nick Emmett
    Australia HK Luke Priddis
    Australia PR Jon Green
    Australia FE Kyle Stanley
    New Zealand PR Ricky Thorby
    Australia WG Peni Tagive
    Australia WG Michael Lett

    *VC - Vice Captain *GK - Goal Kicker

    Transfers

    Gains

    Player Gained From
    Michael Greenfield South Sydney Rabbitohs
    Peni Tagive Wests Tigers
    Junior Paulo Parramatta Eels
    Mark Gasnier Stade Français

    Losses

    Player Lost To
    Mickey Paea Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs
    Justin Poore Parramatta Eels
    Wendell Sailor Retirement
    Chase Stanley Melbourne Storm
    Dean Whare Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

    References

    1. ↑ Warren, Adrian (12 November 2009). "Wendell Sailor announces his retirement from rugby league". Fox Sports. Retrieved 15 November 2009.
    2. ↑ Stuart Honeysett and Brent Read (23 April 2010) Shocking end to the Melbourne Storm era The Australian