2009 St. George Illawarra Dragons season

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.

2009 St. George Illawarra Dragons season
NRL Rank1st
2009 recordWins: 17; draws: 0; losses: 7
Points scoredFor: 570; against: 378
Team information
CEOAustralia Peter Doust
CoachAustralia Wayne Bennett
Captain
StadiumWIN Jubilee Oval WIN Stadium
Top scorers
TriesBrett Morris (25)
GoalsJamie Soward (90)
PointsJamie Soward (234)
< 2008 2010 >

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
DateRoundOpponentVenueScoreAttendanceReport
14 FebruaryTrial Sydney RoostersMembers Equity Stadium, Perth54 – 69,832
21 FebruaryMercury Challenge Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsWIN Stadium, Wollongong24 – 127,628
28 FebruaryCharity Shield South Sydney RabbitohsANZ Stadium, Sydney6 – 1825,871
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw

Regular season
DateRoundOpponentVenueScoreAttendanceReport
13 March1 Melbourne StormOlympic Park Stadium, Melbourne16 – 1714,870
21 March2 Gold Coast TitansWIN Stadium, Wollongong16 – 1013,329
29 March3 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah10 – 620,847
3 April4 Brisbane BroncosSuncorp Stadium, Brisbane25 – 1242,435
10 April5 Parramatta EelsParramatta Stadium, Parramatta22 – 819,017
18 April6 Newcastle KnightsWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah18 – 2414,477
25 April7 Sydney RoostersSydney Football Stadium, Sydney29 – 028,926
3 May8 New Zealand WarriorsWIN Stadium, Wollongong12 – 1114,562
9 May9 North Queensland CowboysDairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville20 – 2416,031
15 May10 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah20 – 1818,415
23 May11 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksToyota Stadium, Cronulla26 – 415,201
29 May12 Penrith PanthersWIN Stadium, Wollongong38 – 1010,623
8 June13 Gold Coast TitansSkilled Park, Gold Coast24 – 2820,416
14 June14 North Queensland CowboysWIN Stadium, Wollongong32 – 1811,374
15
26 June16 Wests TigersSydney Football Stadium, Sydney21 – 1015,211
3 July17 Sydney RoostersWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah34 – 1212,472
12 July18 Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesWIN Stadium, Wollongong48 – 1816,792
19
26 July20 New Zealand WarriorsMount Smart Stadium, Auckland29 – 413,507
31 July21 Melbourne StormWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah26 – 1216,474
7 August22 Penrith PanthersPenrith Stadium, Penrith25 – 619,987
15 August23 Canberra RaidersCanberra Stadium, Canberra12 – 2417,044
21 August24 Brisbane BroncosWIN Stadium, Wollongong2 – 1214,740
29 August25 South Sydney RabbitohsANZ Stadium, Sydney6 – 4119,218
4 September26 Parramatta EelsWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah37 – 017,974
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Finals
DateRoundOpponentVenueScoreAttendanceReport
13 SeptemberQualifying Final Parramatta EelsWIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah12 – 2518,174
19 SeptemberSemi-final Brisbane BroncosSuncorp Stadium, Brisbane10 – 2450,225
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw

2009 NRL Ladder
2009 NRL season
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 St. George Illawarra Dragons 2417072548329+21938
2 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2418062575428+147381
3 Gold Coast Titans 2416082514467+4736
4 Melbourne Storm 2414192505348+15733
5 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24140102549459+9032
6 Brisbane Broncos 24140102511566−5532
7 Newcastle Knights 24130112508491+1730
8 Parramatta Eels 24121112476473+329
9 Wests Tigers 24120122558483+7528
10 South Sydney Rabbitohs 24111122566549+1727
11 Penrith Panthers 24111122515589−7427
12 North Queensland Cowboys 24110132558474+8426
13 Canberra Raiders 2490152489520−3122
14 New Zealand Warriors 2472152377565−18820
15 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2450192359568−20914
16 Sydney Roosters 2450192382681−29914

1 The Bulldogs were deducted 2 competition points after an interchange breach in Round 2.

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

Transfers

Gains

PlayerGained From
Darius BoydBrisbane Broncos
Neville CostiganCanberra Raiders
Nick EmmettBrisbane Broncos
Nathan FienNew Zealand Warriors
Mathew HeadWests Tigers
Mickey PaeaSydney Roosters
Luke PriddisPenrith Panthers
Jeremy SmithMelbourne Storm
Michael WeymanCanberra Raiders

Losses

PlayerLost To
Rangi ChaseCastleford Tigers
Mark GasnierStade Français
Josh MorrisCanterbury Bulldogs
Kirk ReynoldsonRetirement
Ben RogersNewcastle Knights
Jason RylesCatalans Dragons
Lagi SetuBrisbane Broncos
Simon WoolfordRetirement

References
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