# 2005 St. George Illawarra Dragons season

The 2005 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the seventh in the joint venture club's history. The Dragons competed in the NRL's 2005 premiership season. The team finished second in the regular season, making finals but getting knocked out in the preliminary finals against the Wests Tigers, losing 20–12.

## Squad gains and losses

| Player | 2004 Club | 2005 Club |
| Colin Best | Hull F.C. (Super League) | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Michael Ennis | Newcastle Knights | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Willie Manu | South Sydney Rabbitohs | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Shane Marteene | South Sydney Rabbitohs | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Chris Sheppard | North Queensland Cowboys | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Albert Torrens | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Nathan Blacklock | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Hull F.C. (Super League) |
| John Carlaw | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Retirement |
| Brett Firman | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Sydney Roosters |
| Andrew Frew | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Retirement |
| David Howell | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Canberra Raiders |
| Tony Jensen | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Retirement |
| Brent Kite | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles |
| Nathan Long | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Retirement |
| Henry Perenara | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Parramatta Eels |
| Mark Riddell | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Parramatta Eels |
| Lincoln Withers | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Canberra Raiders |

## Ladder

2005 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 704 | 456 | +248 | 36 |
| 2 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 655 | 510 | +145 | 36 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 597 | 484 | +113 | 34 |
| 4 | Wests Tigers (P) | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 676 | 575 | +101 | 32 |
| 5 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 639 | 563 | +76 | 32 |
| 6 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 640 | 462 | +178 | 30 |
| 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 550 | 564 | -14 | 28 |
| 8 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 554 | 632 | -78 | 28 |
| 9 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 488 | 487 | +1 | 26 |
| 10 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 554 | 554 | 0 | 26 |
| 11 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 515 | 528 | -13 | 24 |
| 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 472 | 670 | -198 | 23 |
| 13 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 482 | 700 | -218 | 23 |
| 14 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 465 | 606 | -141 | 22 |
| 15 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 467 | 667 | -200 | 20 |

### Ladder Progression

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Ladder Position | 14th | 14th | 15th | 15th | 14th | 14th | 13th | 13th | 12th | 9th | 9th | 10th | 9th | 7th | 6th | 7th | 7th | 8th | 6th | 5th | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd |
| Source: |||||||||||||||||||||||||||

## Season results

| Round | Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Round | Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue | Referee | Attendance | Source |
| 1 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 46 – 28 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 11 March | Stadium Australia | Paul Simpkins | 33,105 | |
| 2 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 12 – 46 | Melbourne Storm | 19 March | Wollongong Showground | Tony Archer, Gavin Badger | 9,032 | |
| 3 | Penrith Panthers | 18 – 8 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 26 March | Penrith Stadium | Russell Smith | 17,187 | |
| 4 | Canberra Raiders | 42 – 22 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 2 April | Canberra Stadium | Tim Mander | 15,614 | |
| 5 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 32 – 6 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 9 April | Wollongong Showground | Sean Hampstead | 16,117 | |
| 6 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 – 34 | Brisbane Broncos | 17 April | Wollongong Showground | Steve Clark | 17,287 | |
| 7 (ANZAC Day) | Sydney Roosters | 24 – 26 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 25 April | Sydney Football Stadium | Sean Hampstead | 32,370 | |
| 8 | Wests Tigers | 32 – 40 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 1 May | Stadium Australia | Jason Robinson | 17,567 | |
| 9 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 42 – 10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 7 May | Wollongong Showground | Sean Hampstead | 11,624 | |
| 10 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 34 – 12 | Penrith Panthers | 13 May | Wollongong Showground | Paul Simpkins | 12,932 | |
| 11 | Newcastle Knights | 16 – 18 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 21 May | Newcastle International Sports Centre | Shayne Hayne | 19,018 | |
| 12 | Melbourne Storm | 24 – 16 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 29 May | Olympic Park Stadium | Russell Smith | 7,590 | |
| 13 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 32 – 18 | New Zealand Warriors | 4 June | Wollongong Showground | Steve Clark | 14,479 | |
| 14 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 34 – 4 | North Queensland Cowboys | 12 June | Jubilee Oval | Tim Mander | 15,260 | |
| 15 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 10 – 28 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 19 June | Sydney Cricket Ground | Paul Simpkins | 18,334 | |
| 16 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 – 32 | Wests Tigers | 26 June | Jubilee Oval | Shayne Hayne | 10,612 | |
| 17 | | BYE | | | | | | |
| 18 | Parramatta Eels | 40 – 14 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 8 July | Parramatta Stadium | Tim Mander | 20,199 | |
| 19 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 10 – 36 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 17 July | Brookvale Oval | Steve Clark | 17,218 | |
| 20 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 20 – 10 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 July | Jubilee Oval | Tim Mander | 17,113 | |
| 21 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 44 – 6 | Sydney Roosters | 29 July | Wollongong Showground | Paul Simpkins | 19,512 | |
| 22 | North Queensland Cowboys | 16 – 36 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 5 August | Willows Sports Complex | Tim Mander | 21,021 | |
| 23 | Brisbane Broncos | 4 – 24 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 14 August | Lang Park | Tim Mander | 48,995 | |
| 24 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 25 – 22 | Parramatta Eels | 21 August | Jubilee Oval | Paul Simpkins | 17,523 | |
| 25 | | BYE | | | | | | |
| 26 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 36 – 28 | Newcastle Knights | 4 September | Jubilee Oval | Tony Archer | 15,867 | |
| FW1 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 28 – 22 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 10 September | Wollongong Showground | Tony Archer | 19,608 | |
| FW3 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 12 – 20 | Wests Tigers | 24 September | Sydney Football Stadium | Tony Archer | 41,260 | |

## Notable events

* After losing their first four matches of the season, the Dragons (who were sitting on the bottom of the ladder at the time) won their first match in round five, defeating the previously-undefeated Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (who were sitting on the top) by 32–6 in Wollongong.
* In round twelve, St George Illawarra lost 16–24 to the Melbourne Storm at Olympic Park Stadium in Melbourne, a day after another red-and-white team, the Sydney Swans, were thrashed by St Kilda at Telstra Dome.
* In round fourteen, halfback Mathew Head suffered a season-ending knee injury in the club's 34–4 win over the North Queensland Cowboys. The result puts St George Illawarra into the NRL's top eight for the first time in the season.
* In round eighteen, five-eighth and captain Trent Barrett copped a one-game suspension from the tribunal after pleading guilty to striking Parramatta Eels hooker PJ Marsh in the second half. The 40–14 defeat proves to be a major turning point in the club's season, as they would win their final seven games (including a 25–22 win over the Eels in the rematch at Jubilee Oval) to finish second on the ladder, behind the Eels on percentage.