# 2002 St. George Illawarra Dragons season

The 2002 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the fourth in the joint venture club's history. The Dragons competed in the NRL's 2002 premiership season. The team finished seventh in the regular season, making finals but getting knocked out in the second week against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, losing 40–24.

## Squad gains and losses

| Player | 2001 Club | 2002 Club |
| Leo Clarke | No club | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Luke Felsch | Hull F.C. (Super League) | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Shane Millard | London Broncos (Super League) | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Nathan Tutt | Sydney Roosters | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Jamie Ainscough | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Wigan Warriors (Super League) |
| Wayne Bartrim | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Castleford Tigers (Super League) |
| Jamie Fitzgerald | St. George Illawarra Dragons | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Wade Forrester | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Northern Eagles |
| Andrew Hart | St. George Illawarra Dragons | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Ben Jeffries | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Wests Tigers |
| Paul McGregor | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Retirement |
| Craig Smith | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Wigan Warriors (Super League) |
| Darren Treacy | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Salford City Reds (Super League) |
| Colin Ward | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Penrith Panthers |

## Ladder

2002 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 688 | 454 | +234 | 38 |
| 2 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 724 | 498 | +226 | 38 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 672 | 425 | +247 | 37 |
| 4 | Sydney Roosters (P) | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 621 | 405 | +216 | 35 |
| 5 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 653 | 597 | +56 | 34 |
| 6 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 531 | 440 | +91 | 26 |
| 7 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 632 | 546 | +86 | 25 |
| 8 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 471 | 641 | -170 | 25 |
| 9 | Northern Eagles | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 503 | 740 | -237 | 24 |
| 10 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 556 | 586 | -30 | 23 |
| 11 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 496 | 803 | -307 | 20 |
| 12 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 546 | 654 | -108 | 18 |
| 13 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 498 | 642 | -144 | 18 |
| 14 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 385 | 817 | -432 | 14 |
| 15 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 707 | 435 | +272 | 8$^1$ |
$^1$ The Bulldogs were deducted 37 premiership points due to gross salary cap breaches.

### 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 | 8th | 12th | 9th | 9th | 10th | 12th | 12th | 11th | 9th | 8th | 8th | 10th | 10th | 11th | 9th | 9th | 10th | 10th | 8th | 9th | 11th | 9th | 7th | 8th | 7th |
| 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 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 18 – 24 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 17 March | Sydney Football Stadium | Paul Simpkins | 12,470 | |
| 2 | Penrith Panthers | 16 – 24 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 March | Penrith Stadium | Tony Archer | 10,207 | |
| 3 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 33 – 14 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 31 March | Stadium Australia | Bill Harrigan | 37,183 | |
| 4 | | BYE | | | | | | |
| 5 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 20 – 20 | Parramatta Eels | 14 April | Wollongong Showground | Tim Mander | 16,321 | |
| 6 | Melbourne Storm | 12 – 4 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 20 April | Olympic Park Stadium | Sean Hampstead | 8,023 | |
| 7 (ANZAC Day) | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 20 – 24 | Sydney Roosters | 25 April | Sydney Football Stadium | Tony Archer | 20,588 | |
| 8 | Northern Eagles | 22 – 18 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 5 May | Brookvale Oval | Steve Clark | 11,828 | |
| 9 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 21 – 21 | Canberra Raiders | 12 May | Wollongong Showground | Paul Simpkins | 8,052 | |
| 10 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 33 – 22 | Wests Tigers | 18 May | Wollongong Showground | Shayne Hayne | 10,823 | |
| 11 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 28 – 20 | Brisbane Broncos | 26 May | Sydney Football Stadium | Shayne Hayne | 9,051 | |
| 12 | North Queensland Cowboys | 40 – 32 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 1 June | Willows Sports Complex | Matt Cecchin | 10,561 | |
| 13 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 34 – 13 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 8 June | Endeavour Field | Shayne Hayne | 12,554 | |
| 14 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 30 – 30 | Melbourne Storm | 15 June | Wollongong Showground | Sean Hampstead | 8,021 | |
| 15 | New Zealand Warriors | 22 – 32 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 23 June | Mount Smart Stadium | Matt Cecchin | 15,303 | |
| 16 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 45 – 18 | North Queensland Cowboys | 29 June | Wollongong Showground | Matt Cecchin | 7,987 | |
| 17 | Brisbane Broncos | 34 – 22 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 7 July | Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre | Shayne Hayne | 19,998 | |
| 18 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 26 – 28 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 14 July | Wollongong Showground | Paul Simpkins | 18,048 | |
| 19 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 10 – 48 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 20 July | Sydney Football Stadium | Shayne Hayne | 15,219 | |
| 20 | Wests Tigers | 8 – 42 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 28 July | Campbelltown Stadium | Tim Mander | 9,889 | |
| 21 | Newcastle Knights | 24 – 16 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 2 August | Newcastle International Sports Centre | Paul Simpkins | 17,621 | |
| 22 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 18 – 20 | Northern Eagles | 11 August | Sydney Football Stadium | Tim Mander | 9,621 | |
| 23 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 58 – 16 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 18 August | Wollongong Showground | Matt Cecchin | 12,122 | |
| 24 | | BYE | | | | | | |
| 25 | Sydney Roosters | 26 – 10 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 1 September | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 15,629 | |
| 26 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 40 – 22 | Newcastle Knights | 8 September | Sydney Football Stadium | Paul Simpkins | 16,297 | |
| FW1 | Newcastle Knights | 22 – 26 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 14 September | Newcastle International Sports Centre | Bill Harrigan | 21,051 | |
| FW2 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 40 – 24 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 21 September | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 31,783 | |