The St. George Dragons is an Australian
rugby league football
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playing field, field measur ...
club from
St George District in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
that played in the top level
New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the
1921
Events
January
* January 2
** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil.
** The Spanish lin ...
until the
1997 ARL season
The 1997 Australian Rugby League season was the 90th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the third season run by the Australian Rugby League. While several clubs had left the League to compete in the 1997 Super Leagu ...
, as well as the unified 1998
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
season. On 23 September 1998, the club formed a joint venture with the
Illawarra Steelers
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On the 13th of December 1980, the ...
, creating the
St. George Illawarra Dragons
The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...
team which competed in the
1999 NRL season and continues to compete in the league today. As a stand-alone club, it fields teams in the NSWRL underage men's and women's competitions,
Harold Matthews Cup
The NSWRL Harold Matthews Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales between teams made up of players aged under 16. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). The competition is made up o ...
,
S.G. Ball, and
Tarsha Gale Cup
The Tarsha Gale Cup is one of the main Women's rugby league elite aged group competitions in Australia.
The New South Wales Rugby League announced the creation of a nine-a-side under-18s women's league for 2017 Named the Tarsha Gale Nines after ...
.
Entering the
New South Wales Rugby Football League
The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...
in
1921
Events
January
* January 2
** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil.
** The Spanish lin ...
, the St George club won 15 premierships including 11 in succession between
1956 and
1966, still a current world record for sporting competitions. The Dragons thus are equal second along with the
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...
, to the
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen pla ...
in terms of total premierships won in the
NSW Rugby Football League. Following the
Super League war
The Super League war was a commercial competition between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the Australian Super League to establish pre-eminence in professional rugby league competition in Australia and New Zealand in the mid-1990s.
Super ...
and formation of the
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
in 1998, the club still remains in a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers known as the
St. George Illawarra Dragons
The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...
.
History
Formative years
On Friday, 28 February 1908 at
Rockdale Town Hall
The Rockdale Town Hall is a civic building located on the corner of the Princes Highway and Bryant Street in Rockdale, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
History
Rockdale Town Hall was opened by The Rt Hon. The Lord Wakehurst , G ...
a meeting mainly instigated by St George rugby league pioneers, W. Munn and
Joe McGraw
Joseph William McGraw (1874-1951) was a co-founder of the St. George Dragons rugby league club and an Australian sports administrator from the 1920s.
Joe McGraw is remembered as a foundation member of the St. George Dragons District Rugby League ...
, was attended by officials of the recently-formed
New South Wales Rugby Football League
The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...
and rugby players from the local district. NSWRFL president
Henry Hoyle
Henry "Harry" Clement Hoyle (20 November 1852 – 20 July 1926) was an Australian politician and rugby league football administrator of the 1890s and 1900s. A life member of the New South Wales Rugby League, Hoyle is credited with helping t ...
gave a convincing address and a St. George club appeared likely to form, However, the club's application was later rejected due to an insufficient number of players. Undeterred, the St George Rugby League Football Club took form in 1910 when a team played in the
NSWRL
The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...
3rd Grade Competition. The club's first game took place against
Newtown at
Sans Souci and St George were victorious 36–0.
With the demise of
Annandale Rugby League Club, St George was successful in November 1920 in petitioning the NSWRL for promotion. In February 1921 at the
Kogarah
Kogarah () is a suburb of Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres (9 miles) south-west of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George, New South ...
School of Arts, the St George District Rugby League Club was founded. The first President was
Arthur Yager
Arthur Yager (October 29, 1858 – December 24, 1941) served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1913 to 1921.
Biography
Yager was born in Campbellsburg in Henry County, Kentucky. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Georgetown Col ...
, with
Joe McGraw
Joseph William McGraw (1874-1951) was a co-founder of the St. George Dragons rugby league club and an Australian sports administrator from the 1920s.
Joe McGraw is remembered as a foundation member of the St. George Dragons District Rugby League ...
chosen as Secretary,
Arthur Moymow named Treasurer and
Allan Clark
Allan Vincent Clark (born June 8, 1957) is a former American football running back in the National Football League who played for the New England Patriots, the Green Bay Packers, and the Buffalo Bills. Clark played collegiate ball for North ...
as the first club delegate to the
NSWRFL.
Baden Wales
Baden Powell Wales (1900–1968) was an Australian rugby league administrator with the St. George District Rugby League Football Club during its foundation years until his death.
Birth
Born Frederick Charles Sunderland Baden Powell Wales on 17 M ...
was delegate to the Juniors.
The club's inaugural captain was
Dual-code rugby international
A dual-code rugby international is a rugby footballer who has played at the senior international level in both codes of rugby, 13-a-side rugby league and 15-a-side rugby union.
Rugby league started as a breakaway version of rugby in Northern Eng ...
,
Herb Gilbert
Herbert R. Gilbert (18 September 1888 – 5 January 1972) was an Australian rugby league and rugby union player – a dual-code international. He represented the Wallabies in three Tests in 1910 and the Kangaroos in seven Tests from 1911 to 19 ...
who joined the club at aged 33 as captain-coach.
The club's inaugural first grade appearance was on St George's Day, 23 April 1921 against
Glebe
Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...
at the
Sydney Sports Ground
The Sydney Sports Ground No. 1 was a Stadium and Dirt track racing venue in Sydney, New South Wales. The ground was located where the car park of the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) currently sits. The ground had two main grandstands and was surro ...
. The first St George team to take the field was:
Lyall Wall,
Norm Shadlow
Norman Eric Shadlow (1899–1948) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and was a foundation member of the St George Dragons.
Background
Shadlow was born at St Peters, New South Wales, on 15 October 1899.
Playin ...
,
Reg Fusedale
Reginald Douglas Fusedale (1890-1990) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s. He was also a successful sports administrator.
Sporting career
Born Douglas Reginald Fusedale to Harry and Marion Fusedale in ...
,
Herb Gilbert
Herbert R. Gilbert (18 September 1888 – 5 January 1972) was an Australian rugby league and rugby union player – a dual-code international. He represented the Wallabies in three Tests in 1910 and the Kangaroos in seven Tests from 1911 to 19 ...
(c),
George Carstairs,
Frank Gray
Francis Tierney Gray (born 27 October 1954) is a Scottish Association football, football manager (association football), manager and former player. He played for Leeds United F.C., Leeds United, Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest, Sunde ...
,
Tommy Burns,
Tony Redmond,
Clarrie Tye, Sid Field,
Roy Bossi
Roy Percival Bossi (1894–1964) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s.
Background
Roy 'Bunny' Bossi was born in Leichhardt, New South Wales in 1894.
Playing career
He joined Western Suburbs in the 1910 ...
,
Ernie Lapham and
Jack Clark. Glebe won the encounter 4–3. St George won only two matches in their first season and finished equal second last in the premiership.
Before the start of the
1921 season, trial matches were played at
Sans Souci and training took place at the Drill Hall in the Sydney suburb of
Arncliffe. During the 1921 season games were played at
Hurstville
Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...
Oval. In 1925 the club started using
Earl Park at Arncliffe as its headquarters and home ground. The club played at
Earl Park until the end of the 1939 season.
The new club struggled during the 1920s finishing last in 1926 and eight points behind the next placed team. The hiring of another 33-year-old veteran leader in
Frank Burge
Frank Burge (14 August 1894 – 5 July 1958) was one of the greatest forwards in the history of rugby league in Australia. Later Burge became one of the game’s finest coaches. His club career was with Glebe and the St. George Dragons. He repr ...
saw a change in the club's fortunes. In
1927 under Burge, the "Dragon Slayers", as they were then known, qualified for their first final but were beaten by
South Sydney. For each of the next three seasons the Dragons qualified for the semifinals and in
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
they beat
Wests in the final, only to suffer a return loss when Wests exercised their prerogative of the time as minor premiers to request a
Grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
challenge rematch.
1930s
Harry Kadwell, the former
South Sydney player and international half-back took over from Burge as captain-coach in
1931
Events
January
* January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics.
* January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa.
* January 22 – Sir I ...
and had four seasons with the club before his retirement. His leadership partner was the uncompromising hooker
"Snowy" Justice who had been a
Kangaroo tour
Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours to ...
ist alongside Kadwell in 1929–30 and who took over as captain when Kadwell's
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
season was ended with a broken leg. Justice would play eleven seasons with the club, followed by a long post-playing career with as Football Club secretary and League's Club secretary-manager through till the early 1970s.
In
1933 St George sneaked into the semifinals in fourth place and won their way into the final against minor premiers
Newtown. They lost 18–5. That same year they won the first night competition conducted by the NSWRL, a six-club competition played on three Saturday nights at the
Sydney Showground.
In
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
St George defeated
Canterbury-Bankstown
Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...
91–6, the biggest win in their history and still the biggest winning margin ever in the history of the League; every player scored during this match. In
1937 for the fourth time in the club's short history, the Dragon Slayers finished as competition runners-up. Their inaugural premiership had still not been achieved when at the end of the decade, following the
1939 season, the club moved its home ground back to
Hurstville Oval
Hurstville Oval is a multi-use sporting ground, located in the suburb of Hurstville, in Sydney's southern suburbs. Since its opening, it has held various sports at the venue – including Cricket, Rugby League, Cycling and Football. The ov ...
. Former Lord Mayor of Sydney,
Jack Mostyn became President of the club in 1937 and retained the role for the next eight years. In 1938,
Clarrie Fahy became St. George's third secretary after the retirement of
Reg Fusedale
Reginald Douglas Fusedale (1890-1990) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s. He was also a successful sports administrator.
Sporting career
Born Douglas Reginald Fusedale to Harry and Marion Fusedale in ...
. Fahy remained as Club Secretary until 1944.
1940s
The long wait finally ended in
1941
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...
when St George defeated
Eastern Suburbs 31–14 at the
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...
to take their inaugural First Grade premiership. They were captain-coached by
Neville Smith. Brothers
Jack
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
and
Herb Gilbert Jr., the sons of the club's first captain-coach
Herb Gilbert
Herbert R. Gilbert (18 September 1888 – 5 January 1972) was an Australian rugby league and rugby union player – a dual-code international. He represented the Wallabies in three Tests in 1910 and the Kangaroos in seven Tests from 1911 to 19 ...
both played in the match. The following year,
1942
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...
all three grades reached the
Grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
with the 3rd-grade side victorious. The first-grade side had routed
Canterbury-Bankstown
Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...
, the minor premiers, in a semi-final and then beat Easts in the final but as had happened in 1930, Canterbury exercised their right as minor premiers to issue a challenge and beat Saints in a
Grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
. For season 1945, St. George obtained the services of a south sea islander called
Walter Mussing. A prolific try scorer, Mussing was the top try scorer for the club in 1945 and was a crowd favourite for three seasons.
St George captained by
Herb Narvo
Hermann Olaf Frances "Herb" Narvo (19 August 1912 – 28 July 1958) was an Australian rugby league footballer and boxer of the 1930s and 1940s. He was a national representative rugby league player and national heavyweight boxing champion. He ...
and starring the backline brothers
Jack
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
and
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall (3 October 1921 – 23 June 1996) was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league f ...
were runners up again in
1946
Events January
* January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
losing to
Balmain 12–13. Ray Lindwall missed four conversion attempts that day.
During the famous tour by the 1946 Great Britain team,
Frank Whitcombe
Frank William Whitcombe (29 May 1913 – 17 January 1958), also known by the nickname of "The Big Man", was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played rugby union (RU) for Cardiff ...
's performances on tour attracted the attention of St. George. Club official
Jack Mogridge offered Whitcombe a two-year contract at £600 per season as player-coach plus costs of transport and a lucrative job, (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £59,340 in 2016).
Whitcombe signed the two-year contract with St George, however on his return to Bradford the family decided to stay in Yorkshire.
In the
1949 NSWRFL season they were premiers for the second time, beating
South Sydney 19–12 in a spirited win. They were captained by the Test
five-eighth
Five-eighth or Stand-off is one of the positions in a rugby league football team. Wearing jersey number 6, this player is one of the two half backs in a team, partnering the . Sometimes known as the pivot or second receiver, in a traditional a ...
Johnny Hawke with
Frank Facer as Vice Captain and contained a champion backline including
Noel Pidding,
Doug McRitchie
Douglas Allan McRitchie (1923–1998) was an Australian rugby league player who played in the 1940s and 1950s. A New South Wales state and Australia national representative centre, he played his club football in Sydney for the St. George club ...
,
Matt McCoy and
Ron Roberts.The Dragons had lost form in the back-end of the season but came home strongly beating minor premiers
South Sydney in the semi, and
Balmain in a final before meeting Souths again in the
Grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
.
Some first grade players killed in World War 2 include
Jack Lennox,
Len Brennan,
Jack Simpson and
Spencer Walklate.
1950s
The St George Football Club came of age in the 1950s. A move from Hurstville Oval to
Kogarah Oval
Jubilee Stadium, also known as Kogarah Oval or by its sponsored name Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium in Carlton, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is one ...
saw St George take on Souths before a crowd of 12,500 fans in their inaugural match at the ground. Due to its close proximity to
Kogarah Oval
Jubilee Stadium, also known as Kogarah Oval or by its sponsored name Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium in Carlton, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is one ...
, the Carlton Hotel became the local watering hole for the players after training.
In 1953 the first St George Leagues Club was built on the corner of Princes Highway & Rocky Point Road. The building later became a High School, although the building was demolished in July 2015. This club was to become the site of many victory celebrations over the next 10 years. In
1956 St George began their reign as Premiers beating
Balmain 18–12 in the decider. In the following year, they won in First grade, 3rd Grade and the Presidents Cup while being runners-up in Reserve grade. Their dominance had commenced and would last until 1966, covering an unprecedented 11 victories. In the early years players such as
Kearney,
Wilson,
Clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
,
Provan,
Lumsden and
Bath forged the club's success. In
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
they went through the season undefeated amassing 550 points (205 scored by
Harry Bath
Harry Bath (28 November 1924 – 4 October 2008), born Alfred Henry Bath, also known by the nickname of "The Old Fox", was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach who was prominent and influential in the mid-20th century. A state and i ...
) compared to their rivals total tally against them of just 90 points. That year the brilliant young lock
Johnny Raper
John William Raper (12 April 1939 – 9 February 2022) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Nicknamed "Chook", he was a lock-forward who earned a then-record of 33 Test caps in the Australia national team between ...
made his grand final debut at centre replacing the injured
Reg Gasnier
Reginald William "Reg" Gasnier (12 May 1939 – 11 May 2014) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the St. George Dragons from 1959 to 1967 and represented Australian national rugby league team, Australia in a then ...
.
The writers Collis & Whitaker, Larry Writer and Heads & Middleton have all attributed the reign of success to three key factors:,
[Heads/Middleton p 344]
# Club administration – the run began the same year that
Frank Facer came to power as the football club Secretary. Facer had an eye for talent, was a shrewd negotiator and along with President
Len Kelly and Directors Alex Mackie, Glynn Price and Laurie Doust, the leadership group planned their recruitment policy to cover team gaps well ahead of time and worked to maintain an attractive family atmosphere and an environment that fostered success.
# Club funds – the successful Leagues Club generated revenue from poker machines and liquor sales and enabled funds to be poured into local talent development but also enabled star local and overseas players to be lured to the club to share in its success.
# Mastering the art of unlimited tackle football – firstly
Ken Kearney
Kenneth Howard "Killer" Kearney (3 May 192418 August 2006) was an Australian rugby footballer – a List of dual-code rugby internationals, dual-code international player – and a rugby league coach. He represented the Australia national rugby ...
and then
Harry Bath
Harry Bath (28 November 1924 – 4 October 2008), born Alfred Henry Bath, also known by the nickname of "The Old Fox", was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach who was prominent and influential in the mid-20th century. A state and i ...
came to the club after successful careers in English rugby league and brought with them the disciplines of resolute defence, superior ball skills and an uncompromising commitment to fitness. The Dragons' stone-wall defence and controlled and punishing forward play became renowned and resulted in statistics such as the 1959 side remaining unbeaten throughout the season (snatching 19 wins and a draw against Western Suburbs); being undefeated at their
Jubilee Oval
Jubilee Stadium, also known as Kogarah Oval or by its sponsored name Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium in Carlton, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is o ...
home ground in twelve seasons from 1954 to end 1965; while in the total eleven premiership deciding
Grand finals
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
played, the Dragons conceded just five tries.
1960s
By the early 1960s St George players were afforded movie star status in Sydney and names such as
Reg Gasnier
Reginald William "Reg" Gasnier (12 May 1939 – 11 May 2014) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the St. George Dragons from 1959 to 1967 and represented Australian national rugby league team, Australia in a then ...
and
Johnny Raper
John William Raper (12 April 1939 – 9 February 2022) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Nicknamed "Chook", he was a lock-forward who earned a then-record of 33 Test caps in the Australia national team between ...
were highly familiar as were later those of
Graeme Langlands
Graeme Frank Langlands, MBE, (2 September 1941 – 20 January 2018), also known by the nickname of "Changa", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. and coached in the 1970s.
He retire ...
,
Billy Smith and
Johnny King
Johnny Cecil King (born 2 July 1942) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a winger with the St. George Dragons for the last seven years of their eleven consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was ...
.
1963 was a particularly notable year for the club. A new Leagues Club was opened on the Princes Highway at Carlton, and would become the hub of social life in the district and dubbed "the Taj Mahal". On the afternoon of 24 August 1963 Saints won the Grand Final in all three grades
(First Grade 8–3 v
Wests; Reserves 3-2 v
Souths; 3rd Grade 12–2 v
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
) – this feat has not been achieved since. That same day saw the creation of an iconic image when
Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...
photographer John O'Gready captured a photo which would become titled "The Gladiators" and which showed the essence of good sportsmanship as the Saints' captain
Norm Provan
Norman Douglas Somerville Provan (18 December 1932 – 13 October 2021) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Also nicknamed "Sticks", he was a second-row forward with the St George Dragons during the first ten of t ...
and West's captain
Arthur Summons
Arthur James Summons (13 December 1935 – 16 May 2020) was an Australian representative rugby union and rugby league player, a dual-code rugby international fly-half or five-eighth. He captained the Australian national rugby league team in fiv ...
embraced post-match in exhausted camaraderie while barely recognisable, covered head-to-toe in mud. Reserve try scorer was R O'Loughlin.
In 1965 another record was set when a crowd of 78,056 football supporters packed the
SCG to see the Dragons triumph over Souths, and the tally reached ten consecutive premierships in
Norm Provan
Norman Douglas Somerville Provan (18 December 1932 – 13 October 2021) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Also nicknamed "Sticks", he was a second-row forward with the St George Dragons during the first ten of t ...
's farewell match. Provan wrote the introduction to the Haddan book "The Finals – 100 Years" and reflected upon the dressing room mood before the match:
On 18 September 1966, under new captain
Ian Walsh, St George won their world-record 11th straight premiership, defeating Balmain 23–4.
The end of the reign came in a year which marked the retirement of one of their greatest stars in
Reg Gasnier
Reginald William "Reg" Gasnier (12 May 1939 – 11 May 2014) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the St. George Dragons from 1959 to 1967 and represented Australian national rugby league team, Australia in a then ...
but which also marked the first season played under the limited tackle rule, replacing the previous era (since the code's 1908 inception) of unlimited tackles.
Fitting perhaps in that the club's stronghold had been built on the back of a 1950s style of punishing forward dominance. The end came at the hands of
Canterbury-Bankstown
Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...
who beat St George in the 1967 preliminary final. That year's title, however, would go to the tough
South Sydney campaigners many of whom had been on the losing end of the
1965 Grand final against the Dragons but who learnt from their experience and who would go on themselves to their enjoy own brief golden period making five successive grand finals from
1967–
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
, winning four.
1970s
While shaded by the spectacular success of the previous decade, the Dragons remained competitive throughout most of the 1970s winning premierships in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
and
1979, being runner-up Grand Finalists in 1971 and 1975 and finishing the regular season in 3rd place or better in all years excepting 1974 and 1978. In the late 60s and into the early 70s St George got their best value out of
Billy Smith and
Graeme Langlands
Graeme Frank Langlands, MBE, (2 September 1941 – 20 January 2018), also known by the nickname of "Changa", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. and coached in the 1970s.
He retire ...
after all the other stars of the long reign had gone. It was largely due to their combined class and the apparent on-field intuitive understanding of each other's kicking and positional game that the club showed consistency of form through to the mid-1970s.
During 1970, St George became the first club in any code of Football to provide three
Kangaroo
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...
Captains in the same season in
Graeme Langlands
Graeme Frank Langlands, MBE, (2 September 1941 – 20 January 2018), also known by the nickname of "Changa", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. and coached in the 1970s.
He retire ...
,
Billy Smith and rugby-union convert
Phil Hawthorne
Phillip Francis Hawthorne (24 October 1943 – 18 September 1994) was an Australian rugby league and rugby union footballer – a dual-code international. He represented the Wallabies in twenty-one Tests and the Kangaroos in three Tests. He c ...
. Other stars in the early 1970s were
Barry Beath
Barry Beath (born in Eugowra, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, a second-row forward for the St. George Dragons in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership competition. He represented for New Sou ...
,
Ken Maddison
Ken Maddison is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s.Ken M ...
,
Rod Reddy
Rod Reddy (born 1 March 1954) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played in the NSWRL Premiership for the St. George Dragons between 1972 and 1983 and the Illawarra Steelers between 1984 and 1985. He also re ...
,
Steve Edge
Steve Edge (born 2 November 1972) is an English actor, writer and former stand-up comedian. He is most famous for his work on ''Starlings'', ''Phoenix Nights'', '' The Cup'', '' The Visit'', ''Peep Show'', ''Benidorm'' and the satirical magaz ...
and
Ted Goodwin.
In 1971 St George made it through to the Grand final against an experienced Souths side with a battle-hardened pack. Saints were the underdogs but looked well-positioned when the half-time score was 1–0. Souths then raced ahead in the second half to 11–0 lead. The Dragons fought back with tries to
Barry Beath
Barry Beath (born in Eugowra, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, a second-row forward for the St. George Dragons in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership competition. He represented for New Sou ...
and
Ted Walton, while Langlands converted both including a magnificent sideline kick giving the Saints fans great hope of an upset. However a match-winning try from Souths' Bob McCarthy showed the experience of the Rabbitohs and South Sydney took their fourth title in a five-year period.
A year of injuries in 1974 saw St George win only ten of the season's twenty-two matches and miss the semi finals for the first time in 23 years. In 1975
Langlands wore white boots, novel at the time, in the
Grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
against Easts. Langlands had problems with a groin injury and, partially because he battled-on relying strongly on painkillers, St George was defeated 38–0. This was a record loss in a Grand Final until 2008 when
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...
defeated
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...
40–0 however that was accumulated on the four-point try system. The 1975 score on that basis would be 46-0.
In the latter half of the decade
Steve Edge
Steve Edge (born 2 November 1972) is an English actor, writer and former stand-up comedian. He is most famous for his work on ''Starlings'', ''Phoenix Nights'', '' The Cup'', '' The Visit'', ''Peep Show'', ''Benidorm'' and the satirical magaz ...
,
Rocket Reddy,
Steve Morris,
Mark Shulman,
Robert Stone,
Bruce Starkey
Bruce Starkey (born 18 November 1953) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played who played in Sydney's NSWRFL competition in the 1970s and 1980s.
Career
A St. George junior from the Arncliffe Scots Club, Starkey went on to b ...
,
John Jansen and
Craig Young
Craig Young (born 25 June 1956) is an Australian former representative rugby league footballer for the Australia national rugby league team, the New South Wales Blues and a stalwart player over 11 seasons from 1977 to 1988 with the St. Geor ...
provided the playing leadership at the club. In 1977, enjoying a resurgence under new coach
Harry Bath
Harry Bath (28 November 1924 – 4 October 2008), born Alfred Henry Bath, also known by the nickname of "The Old Fox", was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach who was prominent and influential in the mid-20th century. A state and i ...
, St George met
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
in a thrilling Grand Final, which went into 20 minutes of extra time. Reddy ever the enforcer in his career, had played a brutal defensive first half resulting in post-match comments that Parramatta's
Ray Price finished the game looking like he'd been used as a punching bag.
[Collis/Whitaker p 150] Reddy's questionable tactics, targeting Price and
Higgs in the 2nd half saw a number of penalties with successful goal results go Parramatta's way. A try with ten minutes to run saw
the Eels
Eels (often typeset as eels or EELS) is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991 by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Oliver Everett, known by the stage name E. Band members have changed over the years, b ...
tie up the match and in spite of missed goal attempts by both kickers and some desperate field-goal shots from the Dragons, the match finished at 9–9 with tension high amongst players, officials and supporters. It was the first time Australian rugby league had experienced a drawn
Grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
and a rematch was scheduled for the next week. In the rematch St George proved too strong, defeating Parramatta 22–0. It was a fitting farewell for the stalwart Dragons second rower
Barry Beath
Barry Beath (born in Eugowra, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, a second-row forward for the St. George Dragons in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership competition. He represented for New Sou ...
, the last Dragon to retire who'd been involved as a player in the eleven-year run. Beath is credited with the unusual statistic of winning a premiership in his first season (
1966) and his last (1977), but none in ten seasons between.
Administratively, 1977 was the Saints' best-ever year financially. The crowd average was over 19,000 enabling funds for Kogarah Oval to be updated. The following year
Frank Facer, the football club Secretary who had masterminded the successes of the 1950s and 1960s died of cancer. It was Facer who brought
Harry Bath
Harry Bath (28 November 1924 – 4 October 2008), born Alfred Henry Bath, also known by the nickname of "The Old Fox", was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach who was prominent and influential in the mid-20th century. A state and i ...
back to the club in 1977. Bath had coached
Balmain and
Newtown and had success as the
national
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
coach and Facer's masterstroke in bringing Bath back into the Dragons' fold paid off, enabling the old campaigner "Fearless Frank" to see one last premiership victory before his death.
In the
1979 season, still under Bath, Saints got back into the swing of things and won the
Grand Final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
against Canterbury 17–13. By now
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
and
Young
Young may refer to:
* Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents
* Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood
Music
* The Young, an American roc ...
were experienced leaders and
Reddy
Reddy (also transliterated as ''Raddi'', ''Reddi'', ''Reddiar'', ''Reddappa'', ''Reddy'') is a caste that originated in India, predominantly settled in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are classified as a forward caste.
The origin of the ...
, as he'd done in the 1st 1977 Grand final, came into his own in the 1979 decider punishing the opposition forwards with his ruthless defence. As it turned out this would be the last premiership St George would win in first grade before the merger in 1999.
1980s
Harry Bath
Harry Bath (28 November 1924 – 4 October 2008), born Alfred Henry Bath, also known by the nickname of "The Old Fox", was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach who was prominent and influential in the mid-20th century. A state and i ...
coached the 1980 and 1981 seasons, then from 1982 to 1987 the Dragons were coached by the articulate and tactically brilliant
Roy Masters. Though he had not himself played the game at the top level he had a keen interest in team psychology and had achieved excellent results at
Wests from 1978–81 and helped that struggling club to produce consistent on-field results.
Under Masters, in
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
St George were minor-premiers, runaway club champions and made it to the Grand final in all three Grades. After winning both the lower grades, the Dragons first grade team were beaten by
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
7–6. At the end of this year, plans to build a new stand were deferred. A decision to move from Kogarah to the
SCG had supporters and even some officials disheartened.
In 1986, with the SCG as their new home ground, St George missed the semi finals in all three grades for the first time in 50 years. A decision was made at the end of 1987 to move St George from the SCG to the
Belmore Sports Ground
Belmore Sports Ground, formerly known as Belmore Oval, is a multi-purpose stadium in Belmore, New South Wales, Australia. The park covers and from 1951 has contained the Belmore Bowling Recreation Club green. It is close to Belmore railway sta ...
in 1988 with the hope of returning to
Jubilee Oval
Jubilee Stadium, also known as Kogarah Oval or by its sponsored name Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium in Carlton, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is o ...
Kogarah at a later stage.
Ted Glossop
Ted Glossop (1934 – 31 December 1998) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach.
Playing career
He played for the St. George Dragons for eight seasons between 1950 and 1958 and played 115 games for the club scoring 17 tries. He ...
coached for a single season in 1988, tasting success when the Dragons won the mid-week
1988 Panasonic Cup
The 1988 Panasonic Cup was the 15th edition of the NSWRL Midweek Cup, a NSWRL-organised national club Rugby League tournament between the leading clubs and representative teams from the NSWRL, the BRL, the CRL and Papua New Guinea.
A total of ...
competition. In front of 22,000 spectators at Parramatta Stadium, with millions more watching the game on television, the Dragons defeated the
Balmain Tigers
The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995–96) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in t ...
16–8 with prizemoney totalling $150,000. Tries were scored by
Ricky Walford
Ricky Walford (born 8 December 1963) is an
Indigenous Australian former professional and state representative rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the Sydney Roosters, North Sydney Bears and the St. George D ...
,
Steve Robinson and an unforgettable intercept try by
Bert Gordon that "brought the house down". Later, lock forward
Peter Gill was awarded the Panasonic Cup ''Player of the Series'' for 1988.
In 1989, former premiership winning captain
Craig Young
Craig Young (born 25 June 1956) is an Australian former representative rugby league footballer for the Australia national rugby league team, the New South Wales Blues and a stalwart player over 11 seasons from 1977 to 1988 with the St. Geor ...
had two seasons at the helm (1989 & 1990) but left under unhappy circumstances. In 1989, Saints appointed former player
Geoff Carr
Geoffrey Marc Carr (born 1952) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and administrated in the 1990s and 2000s. He was the CEO of the Australian Rugby League as well as the New South Wales Rugby Le ...
as secretary of club and also returned home to upgraded facilities at Kogarah
Jubilee Oval
Jubilee Stadium, also known as Kogarah Oval or by its sponsored name Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium in Carlton, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is o ...
but the season would end and along with it the first decade since the 1930s in which the club failed to win a premiership.
1990s
The '90s saw St George on a roller-coaster ride. Between 1991 and 1995, St George played one home game per year at the
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...
in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
in a deal with longtime major sponsor, the
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
based
Penfolds
Penfolds is an Australian wine producer that was founded in Adelaide in 1844 by Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia, and his wife Mary Penfold. It is one of Australia's oldest wineries, and is currently p ...
Winery. The first game in the "City of Churches" in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
saw the Dragons defeat Balmain 16-2 in front of 28,884 fans which was in fact the NSWRL's highest non-finals attendance for the season. Saints would go on to host
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
(
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
, L 18-20),
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
(
1993, L 2-30), Wests (
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, W 32-16), and finally
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
(
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
, L 13-24). In total the Dragons attracted 89,883 fans to their five home games in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
. St. George would play one more game in Adelaide when they played the short-lived
Adelaide Rams
The Adelaide Rams were an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The team was formed in 1995 for the planned rebel Super League competition. The Rams lasted two seasons, the first in the Super Le ...
at the famous oval in
1998, losing a close encounter 20-22 in front of 8,506 fans.
Saints made the Grand Final in
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
,
1993 and
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
, but were unable to win the premiership. In 1992 and 1993, coached by the former
Illawarra Steelers
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On the 13th of December 1980, the ...
coach
Brian Smith, the Dragons met the
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
in successive deciders. On the first occasion St George were captained by centre
Michael Beattie, but Brisbane was too classy, running away with the game in the 2nd half to win 28–8, including a 95-metre try to Broncos centre
Steve Renouf in which he just outpaced Ricky Walford to score.
Twelve months later in 1993, there were high expectations for the Dragons having comfortably accounted for Canberra 31–10 and
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
27–12 in the semi-finals, and with the Broncos having scraped into the finals in fifth place. The sides for the grand final replay were largely unchanged between the two years. Only one Bronco (
Peter Ryan), and four of the Dragons (
Jason Stevens
Jason Anthony Stevens (born 8 January 1973) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is also a writer, screenwriter and actor. An Australia national rugby league team, Australia nationa ...
,
Nathan Brown,
Gorden Tallis
Gorden James Tallis (born 27 July 1973), also known by the nickname of "Raging Bull" for his on-field aggression, is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A Queensland State of Origin and ...
and
Phil Blake
Phil Blake (born 24 November 1963) is a former rugby league footballer and a professional rugby union coach.
Originally a , Blake developed into a utility player and played first grade matches in all the backline positions, as well as at and ...
) had not played in the 1992 Grand Final. forward Steven's game turned sour in only the second tackle of the game when he suffered a thumb injury that required him leaving the field and being taken to hospital for surgery. Brisbane withstood an early Dragons barrage which brought much hope but no points. Then two tries to Brisbane sent them to the break with a 10–2. Saints winger
Ian "Chook" Herron kept the Dragons in touch with three penalty goals to make it 10–6, but the title stayed north of the border when Broncos winger
Willie Carne
William Carne (born 23 January 1969) is an Australian former rugby footballer who played rugby league for the Brisbane Broncos from 1990 to 1996, as well as representing both Queensland and Australia and rugby union for the Queensland Reds. An a ...
scored two minutes from full-time.
In 1995, after exploring the possibility of a merger with the Roosters in an attempt to match the turnover of the all-conquering
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
, chief executive
Geoff Carr
Geoffrey Marc Carr (born 1952) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and administrated in the 1990s and 2000s. He was the CEO of the Australian Rugby League as well as the New South Wales Rugby Le ...
was sacked by his board.
St George played in their last Grand Final as a single club when they faced off against
Manly-Warringah
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...
in the
1996 decider, with the Sea Eagles winning 20-8 in front of 40,985 fans at the
Sydney Football Stadium
The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...
. The
David Waite
David Waite (born 30 May 1951) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He has also coached Great Britain in the Rugby League Tri-Nations.
Background
Waite was born in New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New ...
coached Dragons had finished the season in 7th position and won their way through to the Grand Final with wins over Canberra (16-14),
Sydney City (36-16), and
North Sydney (29-12) in the Semi-finals. St George's last Grand Final captain was
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
State of Origin
A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...
and
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
test centre
Mark Coyne.
The Dragons' first points of the Grand Final came in the 37th minute when
Wayne Bartrim
Wayne Bartrim (born 9 October 1971), is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He was selected to represent Australia and Queensland during his career, which he spent playing for the Gold C ...
kicked a penalty awarded after Manly forward
Owen Cunningham
Owen Cunningham (born 23 January 1967), nicknamed OJ, is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. A Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played his club football for the Manly Warri ...
was penalised for stripping the ball. From the ensuing kick-off just before half-time came the game's controversial moment and a hotly disputed try. Manly fullback
Matthew Ridge
Matthew John Ridge (born 27 August 1968) is a New Zealand television presenter, and a former rugby union and rugby league footballer.
A fullback in both codes, Ridge played rugby union for Auckland and became an All Black, but never won an in ...
made a spectacular short kick-off and regathered, catching the Dragons unaware. St George hooker Nathan Brown appeared to tackle Ridge, albeit one-handedly and by the collar. Ridge got up and ran when Brown and the rest of the Dragons were expecting him to stop and play the ball. Referee David Manson ruled that Brown had not completed the tackle. This caught the Dragons napping and Ridge was eventually tackled just a few metres from the line. Manly back-rower
Steve Menzies
Steve Menzies (born 4 December 1973), commonly referred to by his nickname "Beaver", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer best known for his career with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. He also played for the Bradford Bull ...
then broke his way through Saints' defence to score next to the posts, giving Ridge an easy conversion kick. The controversial ruling by referee Manson gave Manly a 14–2 half time lead.
At the conclusion of the 1998 season, the formation of the competition's first joint venture team occurred when St George joint ventured with the
Illawarra Steelers
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On the 13th of December 1980, the ...
to form the
St George Illawarra Dragons
The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint- ...
.
Post joint-venture
The joint venture first fielded a side in the NRL competition in 1999 and reached the
Grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
that year. They would later win its first premiership as a joint venture in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, and in 2018 a women's side operating under the same club name was formed ahead of the inaugural
NRL Women's Premiership
The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for women's rugby league in Australia, female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the ...
commencing the same year.
St. George fielded a
NSW Cup
The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...
team from 1921-2000, before forming a St. George Illawarra side which lasted from 2001 to 2007. The Dragons still field stand alone sides in the SG Ball and Harold Matthews competitions, last winning an SG Ball title in 1992 and have yet to taste premiership success in the under 16s Harold Mathews Cup. In 2018, the Dragons entered the
Tarsha Gale Cup
The Tarsha Gale Cup is one of the main Women's rugby league elite aged group competitions in Australia.
The New South Wales Rugby League announced the creation of a nine-a-side under-18s women's league for 2017 Named the Tarsha Gale Nines after ...
, a women's Under 18's competition, for the first time.
Records
Club
*Biggest wins: St George def. Canterbury 91–6 at
Earl Park, 11 May 1935 (Premiership record)
*Worst defeat: Manly def. St George 61–0 at
Brookvale Oval
Brookvale Oval (also known by the commercial sponsorship name 4 Pines Park) is a sporting ground located within Brookvale Park at Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by th ...
3 July 1994
*Longest winning streak: 12 matches from 6 June 1958 – 24, May 1959 (St George went through the 1959 season undefeated, however they drew one game. During this period, the Saints played 23 matches without loss)
*Longest Losing Streak: 8 matches from 3 July – 28 August 1926
*Largest Home Crowd: 23,582 v South Sydney Rabbitohs at
Kogarah Jubilee Oval
Jubilee Stadium, also known as Kogarah Oval or by its sponsored name Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium in Carlton, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is o ...
4 May 1975
Individual
*Most Tries in a Match: 6 by
Jack Lindwall v Manly-Warringah at
Hurstville Oval
Hurstville Oval is a multi-use sporting ground, located in the suburb of Hurstville, in Sydney's southern suburbs. Since its opening, it has held various sports at the venue – including Cricket, Rugby League, Cycling and Football. The ov ...
on 3 May 1947
*Most Goals in a Match: 15 by
Les Griffin v Canterbury-Bankston at
Earl Park on 11 May 1935
*Most Points in a Match: 36 by:
**
Les Griffin (2 tries, 15 goals) v Canterbury-Bankstown at
Earl Park, Arncliffe
Earl Park is the name of a former sports field in the Sydney suburb of Arncliffe. From 1925 to 1939 it was the site of New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership club, St. George's home ground and headquarters. The ground was provided by ...
on 11 May 1935
**
Jack Lindwall (6 tries, 9 goals) v Manly-Warringah at
Hurstville Oval
Hurstville Oval is a multi-use sporting ground, located in the suburb of Hurstville, in Sydney's southern suburbs. Since its opening, it has held various sports at the venue – including Cricket, Rugby League, Cycling and Football. The ov ...
on 3 May 1947
*Most Tries in a Season: 26 by
Tommy Ryan
Tommy Ryan (born Joseph Youngs; March 31, 1870 – August 3, 1948) was an American World Welterweight and World Middleweight boxing champion who fought from 1887 to 1907. His simultaneously holding records in both weight classes was a rar ...
in
NSWRFL season 1957
*Most Goals in a Season: 108 by
Harry Bath
Harry Bath (28 November 1924 – 4 October 2008), born Alfred Henry Bath, also known by the nickname of "The Old Fox", was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach who was prominent and influential in the mid-20th century. A state and i ...
in
NSWRFL season 1958
The 1958 NSWRFL season was the 51st season of the New South Wales Rugby Football League, Australia's first rugby league football competition. Ten teams from across Sydney competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated ...
*Most Points in a Season: 225 (3 tries, 108 goals) by
Harry Bath
Harry Bath (28 November 1924 – 4 October 2008), born Alfred Henry Bath, also known by the nickname of "The Old Fox", was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach who was prominent and influential in the mid-20th century. A state and i ...
in NSWRFL season 1958
*Most Goals in Club History: 648 by
Graeme Langlands
Graeme Frank Langlands, MBE, (2 September 1941 – 20 January 2018), also known by the nickname of "Changa", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. and coached in the 1970s.
He retire ...
from 1963 to 1976
Most First Grade Games
*256,
Norm Provan
Norman Douglas Somerville Provan (18 December 1932 – 13 October 2021) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Also nicknamed "Sticks", he was a second-row forward with the St George Dragons during the first ten of t ...
(1951–1965)
*234,
Billy Smith (1963–1977)
*234,
Craig Young
Craig Young (born 25 June 1956) is an Australian former representative rugby league footballer for the Australia national rugby league team, the New South Wales Blues and a stalwart player over 11 seasons from 1977 to 1988 with the St. Geor ...
(1977–1988)
*227,
Graeme Langlands
Graeme Frank Langlands, MBE, (2 September 1941 – 20 January 2018), also known by the nickname of "Changa", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. and coached in the 1970s.
He retire ...
(1963–1976)
*211,
Michael Beattie (1980–1992)
*207,
Ricky Walford
Ricky Walford (born 8 December 1963) is an
Indigenous Australian former professional and state representative rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the Sydney Roosters, North Sydney Bears and the St. George D ...
(1985–1996)
*207,
Mark Coyne (1989–1998)
*204,
Rod Reddy
Rod Reddy (born 1 March 1954) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played in the NSWRL Premiership for the St. George Dragons between 1972 and 1983 and the Illawarra Steelers between 1984 and 1985. He also re ...
(1972–1983)
*199,
Graeme Wynn
Graeme Wynn (born 19 April 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the St. George Dragons and the Western Suburbs Magpies in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. His position of choice was at ...
(1979–1990)
*191,
Johnny King
Johnny Cecil King (born 2 July 1942) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a winger with the St. George Dragons for the last seven years of their eleven consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was ...
(1960–1971)
Most Tries For Club
*143,
Johnny King
Johnny Cecil King (born 2 July 1942) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a winger with the St. George Dragons for the last seven years of their eleven consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was ...
(1960–1971)
*136,
Eddie Lumsden
Edmund Lumsden (28 September 1936 – 6 October 2019) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer. He was a with the St. George Dragons during their eleven-year premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966, playing in and winning ...
(1957–1966)
*127,
Reg Gasnier
Reginald William "Reg" Gasnier (12 May 1939 – 11 May 2014) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the St. George Dragons from 1959 to 1967 and represented Australian national rugby league team, Australia in a then ...
(1959–1967)
*110,
Jack Lindwall (1938–1949)
*104,
Ricky Walford
Ricky Walford (born 8 December 1963) is an
Indigenous Australian former professional and state representative rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the Sydney Roosters, North Sydney Bears and the St. George D ...
(1985–1996)
*102,
Steve Morris (1979–1986)
*86,
Graeme Langlands
Graeme Frank Langlands, MBE, (2 September 1941 – 20 January 2018), also known by the nickname of "Changa", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. and coached in the 1970s.
He retire ...
(1963–1976)
*79,
Tommy Ryan
Tommy Ryan (born Joseph Youngs; March 31, 1870 – August 3, 1948) was an American World Welterweight and World Middleweight boxing champion who fought from 1887 to 1907. His simultaneously holding records in both weight classes was a rar ...
(1951–1953, 1955–1958)
*65,
Rod Reddy
Rod Reddy (born 1 March 1954) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played in the NSWRL Premiership for the St. George Dragons between 1972 and 1983 and the Illawarra Steelers between 1984 and 1985. He also re ...
(1972–1983)
*64,
Norm Provan
Norman Douglas Somerville Provan (18 December 1932 – 13 October 2021) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Also nicknamed "Sticks", he was a second-row forward with the St George Dragons during the first ten of t ...
(1951–1965)
Most Points For Club
*1,554 (86 tries, 648 goals),
Graeme Langlands
Graeme Frank Langlands, MBE, (2 September 1941 – 20 January 2018), also known by the nickname of "Changa", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. and coached in the 1970s.
He retire ...
(1963–1976)
*874 (104 tries, 229 goals),
Ricky Walford
Ricky Walford (born 8 December 1963) is an
Indigenous Australian former professional and state representative rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the Sydney Roosters, North Sydney Bears and the St. George D ...
(1985–1996)
*634 (20 tries, 287 goals),
Brian Graham (1955–1964)
*598 (34 tries, 248 goals),
Noel Pidding (1947–1953)
*596 (12 tries, 278 goals, 2 field goals),
Doug Fleming
Douglas Norman Fleming (1930-1998) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. A goal-kicking , he played in NSWRFL for Sydney's St. George club, winning the 1949 and 1956 Premierships with them. ...
(1949–1957)
*560 (19 tries, 242 goals),
Wayne Bartrim
Wayne Bartrim (born 9 October 1971), is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He was selected to represent Australia and Queensland during his career, which he spent playing for the Gold C ...
(1995–1998)
Players of note
Australian Rugby League's Team of the Century
*
Frank Burge
Frank Burge (14 August 1894 – 5 July 1958) was one of the greatest forwards in the history of rugby league in Australia. Later Burge became one of the game’s finest coaches. His club career was with Glebe and the St. George Dragons. He repr ...
(1927)
*
Norm Provan
Norman Douglas Somerville Provan (18 December 1932 – 13 October 2021) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Also nicknamed "Sticks", he was a second-row forward with the St George Dragons during the first ten of t ...
(1951–1965)
*
Reg Gasnier
Reginald William "Reg" Gasnier (12 May 1939 – 11 May 2014) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the St. George Dragons from 1959 to 1967 and represented Australian national rugby league team, Australia in a then ...
(1959–1967)
*
Johnny Raper
John William Raper (12 April 1939 – 9 February 2022) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Nicknamed "Chook", he was a lock-forward who earned a then-record of 33 Test caps in the Australia national team between ...
(1959–1969)
*
Graeme Langlands
Graeme Frank Langlands, MBE, (2 September 1941 – 20 January 2018), also known by the nickname of "Changa", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. and coached in the 1970s.
He retire ...
(1963–1976)
Australian Rugby League's 100 greatest players
*
Harry Bath
Harry Bath (28 November 1924 – 4 October 2008), born Alfred Henry Bath, also known by the nickname of "The Old Fox", was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach who was prominent and influential in the mid-20th century. A state and i ...
*
Frank Burge
Frank Burge (14 August 1894 – 5 July 1958) was one of the greatest forwards in the history of rugby league in Australia. Later Burge became one of the game’s finest coaches. His club career was with Glebe and the St. George Dragons. He repr ...
*
Brian Clay
Brian Joseph 'Poppa' Clay (1935 – 1987) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a with the St. George Dragons during their 11-year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was ...
*
Ken Kearney
Kenneth Howard "Killer" Kearney (3 May 192418 August 2006) was an Australian rugby footballer – a List of dual-code rugby internationals, dual-code international player – and a rugby league coach. He represented the Australia national rugby ...
*
Johnny King
Johnny Cecil King (born 2 July 1942) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a winger with the St. George Dragons for the last seven years of their eleven consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was ...
*
Eddie Lumsden
Edmund Lumsden (28 September 1936 – 6 October 2019) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer. He was a with the St. George Dragons during their eleven-year premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966, playing in and winning ...
*
Herb Narvo
Hermann Olaf Frances "Herb" Narvo (19 August 1912 – 28 July 1958) was an Australian rugby league footballer and boxer of the 1930s and 1940s. He was a national representative rugby league player and national heavyweight boxing champion. He ...
*
Billy Smith
*
Ian Walsh
Internationals while at St George
*
Wayne Bartrim
Wayne Bartrim (born 9 October 1971), is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He was selected to represent Australia and Queensland during his career, which he spent playing for the Gold C ...
*
Barry Beath
Barry Beath (born in Eugowra, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, a second-row forward for the St. George Dragons in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership competition. He represented for New Sou ...
*
Tony Branson
Tony Branson (1946-2020) was an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. A state and national representative five-eighth from Nowra in country New South Wales, Branson came to Sydney in 1968 to join the St G ...
*
Bob Bugden
Robert Alfred Bugden (born 25 February 1936) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He was a with the St. George Dragons in the first half of their 11-year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was al ...
*
George Carstairs
*
Brian Clay
Brian Joseph 'Poppa' Clay (1935 – 1987) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a with the St. George Dragons during their 11-year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was ...
*
Mark Coyne
*
Percy Fairall
Percy Christian Charles Fairall (1909-1980) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He was a New South Wales rugby league team, state and Australia national rugby league team, national forward who captained h ...
*
Wally Fullerton Smith
Wally John Fullerton-Smith (born 9 July 1960) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative back-rower, he played club f ...
*
Fred Gardner
*
Reg Gasnier
Reginald William "Reg" Gasnier (12 May 1939 – 11 May 2014) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the St. George Dragons from 1959 to 1967 and represented Australian national rugby league team, Australia in a then ...
*
Ted Goodwin
*
Scott Gourley
Scott Robert Gourley (born 18 July 1968) is an Australian former rugby league and rugby union footballer who played from 1986-1998 and achieved the status of a dual-code international representing his country in both sports. He made five Test ...
*
Norman Hawke
*
Phil Hawthorne
Phillip Francis Hawthorne (24 October 1943 – 18 September 1994) was an Australian rugby league and rugby union footballer – a dual-code international. He represented the Wallabies in twenty-one Tests and the Kangaroos in three Tests. He c ...
*
Jack Holland
*
Pat Jarvis
*
Albert "Rick" Johnston
*
Brian Johnston
Brian Alexander Johnston (24 June 1912 – 5 January 1994), nicknamed Johnners, was a British cricket commentator, author, and television presenter. He was most prominently associated with the BBC during a career which lasted from 1946 until h ...
*
Arthur Justice
Arthur "Snowy" Justice (1902–1977) was an Australian rugby league footballer, coach and administrator. He was a rugged for the St George Dragons who made New South Wales state rugby league team, state and Australia national rugby league team ...
*
Ken Kearney
Kenneth Howard "Killer" Kearney (3 May 192418 August 2006) was an Australian rugby footballer – a List of dual-code rugby internationals, dual-code international player – and a rugby league coach. He represented the Australia national rugby ...
*
Johnny King
Johnny Cecil King (born 2 July 1942) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a winger with the St. George Dragons for the last seven years of their eleven consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was ...
*
Ross Kite
*
Graeme Langlands
Graeme Frank Langlands, MBE, (2 September 1941 – 20 January 2018), also known by the nickname of "Changa", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. and coached in the 1970s.
He retire ...
*
Eddie Lumsden
Edmund Lumsden (28 September 1936 – 6 October 2019) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer. He was a with the St. George Dragons during their eleven-year premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966, playing in and winning ...
*
Brad Mackay
Brad Mackay (born 1969 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A versatile for the St George Dragons, Illawarra Steelers, Western Reds and the joint-venture of St. Georg ...
*
Steve Morris
*
Noel Mulligan
Noel Mulligan (April 12, 1926 - March 11, 2000), also known by the nickname of "The Count", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. An Australia national rugby league team, Australian internatio ...
*
Matt McCoy
*
Doug McRitchie
Douglas Allan McRitchie (1923–1998) was an Australian rugby league player who played in the 1940s and 1950s. A New South Wales state and Australia national representative centre, he played his club football in Sydney for the St. George club ...
*
Kevin O'Brien
*
Michael O'Connor Michael O'Connor may refer to:
Politicians
* Michael O'Connor (Australian politician) (1865–1940), Australian politician
* Michael O'Connor (Wisconsin politician) (1856–1925), Wisconsin State Assemblyman
* Michael J. O'Connor (politici ...
*
Bryan Orrock
Bryan Orrock (1930−2019) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s. An Australia national rugby league team, Australia national and New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales state representative f ...
*
Noel Pidding
*
Norm Provan
Norman Douglas Somerville Provan (18 December 1932 – 13 October 2021) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Also nicknamed "Sticks", he was a second-row forward with the St George Dragons during the first ten of t ...
*
Graham Quinn
*
Johnny Raper
John William Raper (12 April 1939 – 9 February 2022) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Nicknamed "Chook", he was a lock-forward who earned a then-record of 33 Test caps in the Australia national team between ...
*
Elton Rasmussen
*
Rod Reddy
Rod Reddy (born 1 March 1954) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played in the NSWRL Premiership for the St. George Dragons between 1972 and 1983 and the Illawarra Steelers between 1984 and 1985. He also re ...
*
Johnny Riley
*
Ron Roberts
*
Kevin Ryan
*
Tommy Ryan
Tommy Ryan (born Joseph Youngs; March 31, 1870 – August 3, 1948) was an American World Welterweight and World Middleweight boxing champion who fought from 1887 to 1907. His simultaneously holding records in both weight classes was a rar ...
*
Billy Smith
*
Ian Walsh
*
Billy Wilson
*
John Wittenberg
John Wittenberg (2 October 1939 – 3 November 2005) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer. A front-row forward with the St. George Dragons, he was a representative in the Australian national team in 1966 and from 1968 to 197 ...
*
Graeme Wynn
Graeme Wynn (born 19 April 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the St. George Dragons and the Western Suburbs Magpies in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. His position of choice was at ...
*
Craig Young
Craig Young (born 25 June 1956) is an Australian former representative rugby league footballer for the Australia national rugby league team, the New South Wales Blues and a stalwart player over 11 seasons from 1977 to 1988 with the St. Geor ...
Coaching register
Stadium
St. George began their home-ground stadium at
Hurstville Oval
Hurstville Oval is a multi-use sporting ground, located in the suburb of Hurstville, in Sydney's southern suburbs. Since its opening, it has held various sports at the venue – including Cricket, Rugby League, Cycling and Football. The ov ...
in 1921 until 1924. In 1925, they went to
Earl Park, Arncliffe
Earl Park is the name of a former sports field in the Sydney suburb of Arncliffe. From 1925 to 1939 it was the site of New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership club, St. George's home ground and headquarters. The ground was provided by ...
, where they remained until 1939. They returned to Hurstville in 1940, where they remained until 1949.
In 1950, the team moved to
Kogarah Oval
Jubilee Stadium, also known as Kogarah Oval or by its sponsored name Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium in Carlton, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is one ...
. They stayed at the venue until 1985. From 1986 until 1988 while the ground was being renovated, the Dragons moved to
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...
(1986–1987) and to
Belmore Oval
Belmore Sports Ground, formerly known as Belmore Oval, is a multi-purpose stadium in Belmore, New South Wales, Australia. The park covers and from 1951 has contained the Belmore Bowling Recreation Club green. It is close to Belmore railway sta ...
(1988). In 1989, the team returned to Kogarah Oval where they remained until the joint-venture with the
Illawarra Steelers
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On the 13th of December 1980, the ...
at the end of the
1998 NRL season
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
.
St. George's home game crowd record was in 1975, where a crowd of 23,582 attended the game against
South Sydney at Kogarah Oval.
Presently, the St. George Dragons play the bulk of home games in the SG Ball and Harold Matthews competitions at WIN Jubilee Oval, and in recent years have also hosted games at Hurstville Oval.
District Juniors
The St. George District JRL covers an area of southern Sydney from Cooks River and the M5 Motorway in the north, Botany Bay to the east, Salt Pan Creek to the west, and the Georges River to the south.
Current St. George junior clubs are:
*Renown United
*
Arncliffe Scots
The Sydney Combined Competition (SCC) formerly Inner City Combined Competition (ICCC) is an amateur rugby league competition for both senior and junior rugby league clubs in the St. George, Canterbury-Bankstown, Balmain, Western Suburbs and Ea ...
*Hurstville United
*Brighton Seagulls
*Riverwood Legion
*Earlwood Saints
*Penshurst RSL
*Kingsgrove Colts
*Kogarah Cougars
Defunct clubs:
*Peakhurst Inn
*Kingshead Cowboys
*ICC (Illawarra Catholic Club)
*Marist Brothers Kogarah
*De La Salle Kingsgrove
*Oatley RSL
*Lugarno
*The Grove
*Rockdale Bulls
*Peakhurst Hawks
*South Hurstville Diggers
*Sans Souci
*Hurstville Old Boys
*Ramsgate United
*Sutherland Grave Diggers (1935 prior to formation of Cronulla-Sutherland in 1967)
*Allawah
*Intersection Tavern
*Kyeemagh Stingrays
*St George Rowers
*Narwee Colts
*Riverwood United
*Bexley-Kingsgrove
*Bexley RSL
Notable NRL players who were St. George juniors:
*
Len Kelly – Sutherland Grave Diggers
*
Jack Lindwall – Marist Brothers Kogarah
*
Reg Gasnier
Reginald William "Reg" Gasnier (12 May 1939 – 11 May 2014) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the St. George Dragons from 1959 to 1967 and represented Australian national rugby league team, Australia in a then ...
– Renown United
*
Billy Smith – Renown United
*
John Stathers – Renown United
*
Mark Gasnier
Mark Gasnier (born 19 July 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A rugby league New South Wales State of Origin and international representative , he played eleven seasons in the N ...
– Renown United
*
Jason Nightingale
Jason Nightingale (born 20 September 1986) is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who played as a er and for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.
He primarily played on the wing and as a fullback, but off the ...
– Renown United
*
Daryl Millard
Daryl Millard (born 20 February 1985) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who last played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL. He previously played for the Catalans Dragons, Canterbury-Bankstown and St George Illawarra.
Ba ...
– Renown United
*
Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine Jr. (born 21 May 1975) is an Australian former professional boxer and rugby league footballer. In boxing he competed from 2000 to 2021, and held the WBA super-middleweight title twice between 2003 and 2008. He also held the I ...
– Hurstville United
*
Lance Thompson
Lance Thompson (16 February 1978 – 23 August 2018) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for St. George, St. George Illawarra and Cronulla-Sutherland. He primarily played in t ...
– Hurstville United
*
Brad Mackay
Brad Mackay (born 1969 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A versatile for the St George Dragons, Illawarra Steelers, Western Reds and the joint-venture of St. Georg ...
– Brighton Seagulls
*
Jason Stevens
Jason Anthony Stevens (born 8 January 1973) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is also a writer, screenwriter and actor. An Australia national rugby league team, Australia nationa ...
– Brighton Seagulls
*
Johnny King
Johnny Cecil King (born 2 July 1942) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a winger with the St. George Dragons for the last seven years of their eleven consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was ...
– Arncliffe Scots
*
Matthew Dufty – Penshurst RSL
*
Ross Kite – Arncliffe Scots
*
Michael Beattie – Bexley-Kingsgrove
*
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regarded ...
– Brighton Seagulls
*
Robert Stone – Marist Brothers Kogarah
*
Ross Strudwick
Ross Strudwick (born 1950) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. An Australian international, New South Wales and Queensland representative halfback of the 1970s, he played club football in the New South Wales Rugby Footba ...
– Renown United
*Randall Barge – Brighton Seagulls
*
Jacob Host – Renown United
*
Arthur Justice
Arthur "Snowy" Justice (1902–1977) was an Australian rugby league footballer, coach and administrator. He was a rugged for the St George Dragons who made New South Wales state rugby league team, state and Australia national rugby league team ...
– Club unknown
*
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall (3 October 1921 – 23 June 1996) was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league f ...
– Marist Brothers Kogarah
*
Percy Fairall
Percy Christian Charles Fairall (1909-1980) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He was a New South Wales rugby league team, state and Australia national rugby league team, national forward who captained h ...
- Ramsgate (later became Ramsgate United)
*
Bruce Starkey
Bruce Starkey (born 18 November 1953) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played who played in Sydney's NSWRFL competition in the 1970s and 1980s.
Career
A St. George junior from the Arncliffe Scots Club, Starkey went on to b ...
– Arncliffe Scots
*
Pat Jarvis – Arncliffe Scots
*
Wes Naiqama
Wes Naiqama (born 19 October 1982) is a Fijian Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the London Broncos in the English Championship. He won 14 caps for the Fiji national rugby league team. He primarily play ...
– Arncliffe Scots
*
Kevin Naiqama
Kevin Naiqama (born 4 February 1989) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who usually plays as a or er for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League and as a or for Fiji at International level.
He previously played for the ...
– Arncliffe Scots
*
George Ndaira
George Ndaira (born 22 February 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level for Lebanon, and at club level in the National Rugby League (NRL) for the S ...
– Arncliffe Scots
*
Chris Johns – Penshurst RSL
*
Adam Peek – Peakhurst Hawks
*
Joseph Leilua – Hurstville United
*
Steve Edge
Steve Edge (born 2 November 1972) is an English actor, writer and former stand-up comedian. He is most famous for his work on ''Starlings'', ''Phoenix Nights'', '' The Cup'', '' The Visit'', ''Peep Show'', ''Benidorm'' and the satirical magaz ...
– St George Rowers
*
Tiger Black
Ernest Harold 'Tiger' Black BEM (1918 – 30 August 1983) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He later became a rugby league broadcaster and commentator.
Playing career
Born and raised at Arncliffe, N ...
– Arncliffe Scots
*
Luciano Leilua
Luciano Leilua (born 8 June 1996) is a Samoa national rugby league team, Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL).
He previously played for the St. ...
– Hurstville United
*
Blake Ferguson – Earlwood Saints
*
Josh Addo-Carr
Josh Addo-Carr (born 28 July 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level.
He began his career with ...
– Earlwood Saints
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Keith Galloway
Keith Galloway (born 2 September 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 2000s and 2010s.
He played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Wests Tigers in the NRL, and the Leeds Rhinos i ...
– Marist Brothers Kogarah
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Michael Sorridimi – Kingsgrove Colts
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Billy Wilson – club unknown
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Noel Goldthorpe
Noel Goldthorpe (born 25 December 1969) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the halves in the 1990s. He played most of his career for the St George Dragons. Goldthorpe also played for the Western Suburbs ...
– Kyeemagh Stingrays
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Mark Shulman – Ramsgate United
Team of the century
On 20 July 2022, the St. George Dragons District Rugby League Club announced their team of the century.
See also
*
Illawarra Steelers
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On the 13th of December 1980, the ...
*
St. George Illawarra Dragons
The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...
References
Sources
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*
*
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Whiticker, Alan & Collis, Ian (2006) ''The History of Rugby League Clubs'', New Holland, Sydney
* Heads, Ian and Middleton, David (2008) ''A Centenary of Rugby League'', MacMillan Sydney
* Haddan, Steve (2007) ''The Finals – 100 Years of National Rugby League Finals'', Steve Haddan Publishing, Brisbane
External links
RL1908 – History of the St. George Dragons Dragons Lair - St. George Illawarra Fan Discussion Forum
{{Authority control
Rugby clubs established in 1920
Defunct NSWRL/ARL/SL/NRL clubs
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Sydney Cricket Ground
Saint George and the Dragon
1920 establishments in Australia