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.
2009 St. George Illawarra Dragons season | ||||
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NRL Rank | 1st | |||
2009 record | Wins: 26; Draws: 9; Losses: 17 | |||
Points scored | For: 570; Against: 378 | |||
Team information | ||||
CEO | Peter Doust | |||
Coach | Wayne Bennett | |||
Captain | ||||
Stadium | WIN Jubilee Oval WIN Stadium | |||
Top scorers | ||||
Tries | Brett Morris (25) | |||
Goals | Jamie Soward (90) | |||
Points | Jamie Soward (234) | |||
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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 | Report | ||||
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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
Finals
Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Attendance | Report | ||||
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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
Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
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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* |
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 |
* Bulldogs stripped of 2 competition points after an interchange breach in round 2
Squad
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Transfers
Gains
Losses