# 2003 St. George Illawarra Dragons season

The 2003 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the fifth in the joint venture club's history. The Dragons competed in the NRL's 2003 premiership season. The team finished tenth in the regular season, missing out on finals for the second time in their history.

## Squad gains and losses

| Player | 2002 Club | 2003 Club |
| John Cross | Penrith Panthers | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Henry Perenara | Melbourne Storm | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Quentin Pongia | Villeneuve XIII RLLG (Elite One Championship) | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Hassan Saleh | Wests Tigers | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Leo Clarke | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Retired |
| Luke Felsch | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Retired |
| Lee Hookey | St. George Illawarra Dragons | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Jason Hooper | St. George Illawarra Dragons | St Helens R.F.C. (Super League) |
| Wise Kativerata | St. George Illawarra Dragons | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Jason Kent | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
| Shane Millard | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Widnes Vikings (Super League) |
| Willie Peters | St. George Illawarra Dragons | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Ben Ross | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Penrith Panthers |
| Justin Smith | St. George Illawarra Dragons | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Colin Ward | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Penrith Panthers |

## Ladder

2003 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Penrith Panthers (P) | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 659 | 527 | +132 | 40 |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 680 | 445 | +235 | 38 |
| 3 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 702 | 419 | +283 | 36 |
| 4 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 620 | 463 | +157 | 36 |
| 5 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 564 | 486 | +78 | 34 |
| 6 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 545 | 510 | +35 | 34 |
| 7 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 632 | 635 | -3 | 32 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 497 | 464 | +33 | 28 |
| 9 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 570 | 582 | -12 | 26 |
| 10 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 548 | 593 | -45 | 26 |
| 11 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 606 | 629 | -23 | 24 |
| 12 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 497 | 704 | -207 | 20 |
| 13 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 470 | 598 | -128 | 18 |
| 14 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 557 | 791 | -234 | 18 |
| 15 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 457 | 758 | -301 | 10 |

### 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 | 11th | 7th | 9th | 8th | 10th | 9th | 8th | 7th | 9th | 9th | 8th | 10th | 10th | 11th | 9th | 9th | 7th | 9th | 7th | 8th | 8th | 9th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 10th |
| 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 | Wests Tigers | 24 – 20 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 15 March | Stadium Australia | Sean Hampstead | 42,017 | |
| 2 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 30 – 28 | Parramatta Eels | 23 March | Wollongong Showground | Tim Mander | 13,149 | |
| 3 | Canberra Raiders | 18 – 14 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 29 March | Canberra Stadium | Sean Hampstead | 13,744 | |
| 4 | | BYE | | | | | | |
| 5 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 12 – 38 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 13 April | Wollongong Showground | Steve Clark | 13,150 | |
| 6 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 14 – 24 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 19 April | Stadium Australia | Shayne Hayne | 33,397 | |
| 7 (ANZAC Day) | Sydney Roosters | 20 – 24 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 25 April | Sydney Football Stadium | Shayne Hayne | 26,014 | |
| 8 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 28 – 12 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 4 May | Jubilee Oval | Bill Harrigan | 16,713 | |
| 9 | Penrith Panthers | 30 – 26 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 11 May | Penrith Stadium | Tim Mander | 17,862 | |
| 10 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 16 – 18 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 17 May | Wollongong Showground | Paul Simpkins | 11,555 | |
| 11 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 16 – 18 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 25 May | Sydney Cricket Ground | Bill Harrigan | 11,104 | |
| 12 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 16 – 36 | North Queensland Cowboys | 1 June | Jubilee Oval | Shayne Hayne | 13,517 | |
| 13 | | BYE | | | | | | |
| 14 | Newcastle Knights | 32 – 30 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 13 June | Newcastle International Sports Centre | Sean Hampstead | 18,233 | |
| 15 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 34 – 20 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 21 June | Wollongong Showground | Sean Hampstead | 10,220 | |
| 16 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 28 – 42 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 28 June | Brookvale Oval | Steve Clark | 11,161 | |
| 17 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 32 – 16 | Brisbane Broncos | 4 July | Wollongong Showground | Steve Clark | 14,153 | |
| 18 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 18 – 19 | Canberra Raiders | 13 July | Jubilee Oval | Tim Mander | 14,204 | |
| 19 | North Queensland Cowboys | 16 – 36 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 19 July | Willows Sports Complex | Paul Simpkins | 16,542 | |
| 20 | Parramatta Eels | 36 – 10 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 26 July | Parramatta Stadium | Shayne Hayne | 14,056 | |
| 21 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 34 – 28 | Penrith Panthers | 3 August | Wollongong Showground | Paul Simpkins | 15,310 | |
| 22 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 20 – 30 | New Zealand Warriors | 10 August | Jubilee Oval | Bill Harrigan | 12,595 | |
| 23 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 25 – 16 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 16 August | Endeavour Field | Sean Hampstead | 15,504 | |
| 24 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 14 – 22 | Melbourne Storm | 22 August | Wollongong Showground | Tim Mander | 11,367 | |
| 25 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 8 – 42 | Newcastle Knights | 31 August | Jubilee Oval | Steve Clark | 10,798 | |
| 26 | Brisbane Broncos | 25 – 26 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 5 September | Lang Park | Tim Mander | 35,597 | |