# 2011 St. George Illawarra Dragons season

The 2011 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the 13th in the joint venture club's history. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Ben Hornby they competed in the NRL's 2011 Telstra Premiership as defending champions. The Dragons finished the regular season 5th (out of 16) before being knocked out of the finals by the Brisbane Broncos. This was Bennett's last match with the Dragons as he moved to the Newcastle Knights for the 2012 NRL season.

## Pre Season

In the pre-season the Dragons won their annual Charity Shield match against South Sydney before travelling to take on reigning Super League champions, Wigan Warriors.
The Dragons won all three of their pre-season games. This included victory in the 2011 World Club Challenge, giving them the title of best club rugby league team in the world.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Attendance |
| 13 February | Charity Shield | South Sydney Rabbitohs | ANZ Stadium, Sydney | 32–10 | 19,267 |
| 18 February | Mercury Challenge | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | 28–12 | 6,174 |
| 27 February | 2011 World Club Challenge | Wigan Warriors | DW Stadium, Wigan | 21–15 | 24,268 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw |||||||

## Regular season

By the middle of the regular season the Dragons were leading the competition.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Attendance |
| 12 March | 1 | Gold Coast Titans | Skilled Park, Gold Coast | 25–16 | 21,709 |
| 21 March | 2 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Toyota Stadium, Cronulla | 10–16 | 12,183 |
| 27 March | 3 | New Zealand Warriors | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | 25–12 | 11,651 |
| 3 April | 4 | Newcastle Knights | Ausgrid Stadium, Newcastle | 20–18 | 20,986 |
| 10 April | 5 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | 25–6 | 31,122 |
| 18 April | 6 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | ANZ Stadium, Sydney | 16–0 | 22,771 |
| 25 April | 7 (ANZAC Day Test) | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | 24–10 | 34,976 |
| 1 May | 8 | Parramatta Eels | WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah | 30–0 | 19,319 |
| 8 May | 9 | North Queensland Cowboys | WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah | 22–8 | 13,056 |
| 13 May | 10 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | ANZ Stadium, Sydney | 15–10 | 34,322 |
| | 11 | | | | |
| 29 May | 12 | Wests Tigers | WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah | 24–18 | 19,892 |
| 3 June | 13 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta | 14–14 | 16,066 |
| 10 June | 14 | Gold Coast Titans | WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah | 14–28 | 10,139 |
| 17 June | 15 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | 14–21 | 34,185 |
| 27 June | 16 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | 24–6 | 18,974 |
| 3 July | 17 | Newcastle Knights | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | 10–14 | 17,205 |
| | 18 | | | | |
| 18 July | 19 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah | 38–8 | 16,897 |
| 25 July | 20 | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium, Canberra | 19–24 | 10,425 |
| 31 July | 21 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | 24–34 | 18,980 |
| 5 August | 22 | Wests Tigers | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | 14–16 | 27,687 |
| 14 August | 23 | Sydney Roosters | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | 12–20 | 14,141 |
| 19 August | 24 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park, Melbourne | 6–8 | 24,081 |
| 28 August | 25 | New Zealand Warriors | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | 26–22 | 15,732 |
| 2 September | 26 | Penrith Panthers | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | 32–12 | 13,621 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye |||||||

## Finals

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Attendance |
| 9 September | Qualifying Final | Wests Tigers | ANZ Stadium, Sydney | 12 – 21 | 45,631 |
| 17 September | Semi Final | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | 12 – 13 | 48,474 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye |||||||

## Ladder

2011 NRL Telstra Premiershipvte :
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 521 | 308 | 213 | 42 |
| 2 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P) | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 539 | 331 | 208 | 40 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 511 | 372 | 139 | 40 |
| 4 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 519 | 430 | 89 | 34 |
| 5 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 483 | 341 | 142 | 33 |
| 6 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 504 | 393 | 111 | 32 |
| 7 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 532 | 480 | 52 | 32 |
| 8 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 478 | 443 | 35 | 28 |
| 9 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 449 | 489 | -40 | 28 |
| 10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 531 | 562 | -31 | 26 |
| 11 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 417 | 500 | -83 | 24 |
| 12 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 430 | 517 | -87 | 22 |
| 13 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 428 | 557 | -129 | 18 |
| 14 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 385 | 538 | -153 | 17 |
| 15 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 423 | 623 | -200 | 16 |
| 16 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 363 | 629 | -266 | 16 |

## Transfers

Gains
| Player | Gained From |
| Adam Cuthbertson | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| Daniel Penese | Penrith Panthers |
| David Gower | Wests Tigers |
Losses
| Player | Lost To |
| Neville Costigan | Newcastle Knights |
| Jeremy Smith | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| Jarrod Saffy | Melbourne Rebels |
| Ricky Thorby | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Michael Lett | Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs |
| Beau Henry | Newcastle Knights |
| Kalifa Faifai Loa | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Junior Paulo | Penrith Panthers |
| Luke Priddis | Retirement |