# 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.

## 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 |
| 14 February | Trial | Sydney Roosters | Members Equity Stadium, Perth | 54 – 6 | 9,832 |
| 21 February | Mercury Challenge | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | 24 – 12 | 7,628 |
| 28 February | Charity Shield | South Sydney Rabbitohs | ANZ Stadium, Sydney | 6 – 18 | 25,871 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw |||||||

## Regular season

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

## Finals

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

## 2009 NRL Ladder

2009 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 548 | 329 | +219 | 38 |
| 2 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 575 | 428 | +147 | 38$^1$ |
| 3 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 514 | 467 | +47 | 36 |
| 4 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 505 | 348 | +157 | 33 |
| 5 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 549 | 459 | +90 | 32 |
| 6 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 511 | 566 | −55 | 32 |
| 7 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 508 | 491 | +17 | 30 |
| 8 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 476 | 473 | +3 | 29 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 558 | 483 | +75 | 28 |
| 10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 566 | 549 | +17 | 27 |
| 11 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 515 | 589 | −74 | 27 |
| 12 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 558 | 474 | +84 | 26 |
| 13 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 489 | 520 | −31 | 22 |
| 14 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 7 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 377 | 565 | −188 | 20 |
| 15 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 359 | 568 | −209 | 14 |
| 16 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 382 | 681 | −299 | 14 |
$^1$ The Bulldogs were deducted 2 competition points after an interchange breach in Round 2.

## Squad

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

## 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 |