2011 St. George Illawarra Dragons season

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

2011 St. George Illawarra Dragons season
2011 recordWins: 14; draws: 1; losses: 9
Points scoredFor: 507; against: 375
Team information
CEOAustralia Peter Doust
CoachAustralia Wayne Bennett
Assistant coachAustralia Steve Price
Captain
StadiumWIN Jubilee Oval WIN Stadium
Top scorers
TriesMatt Cooper (14)
GoalsJamie Soward (68)
PointsJamie Soward (157)
← 2010 2012 →

Pre Season

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In the pre-season the Dragons won their annual Charity Shield match against South Sydney before travelling to take on reigning Super League champions, Wigan Warriors.

The Dragons won all three of their pre-season games. This included victory in the 2011 World Club Challenge, giving them the title of best club rugby league team in the world.[1]

Date Round Opponent Venue Score Attendance Report
13 February Charity Shield   South Sydney Rabbitohs ANZ Stadium, Sydney 32–10 19,267 [1]
18 February Mercury Challenge   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs WIN Stadium, Wollongong 28–12 6,174 [2]
27 February 2011 World Club Challenge   Wigan Warriors DW Stadium, Wigan 21–15 24,268 [3]
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw

Regular season

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By the middle of the regular season the Dragons were leading the competition.

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

Finals

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Date Round Opponent Venue Score Attendance Report
9 September Qualifying Final   Wests Tigers ANZ Stadium, Sydney 12 – 21 45,631 [28]
17 September Semi Final   Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane 12 – 13 48,474 [29]
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Ladder

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

Squad

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St. George Illawarra Dragons
Current NRL premiership squad Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coaches

  • Steve Price
  • Jeremy Hickmans (performance director)
  • Scott Campbell (strength & conditioning)
  • Adrian Lam (NYC head coach)

Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)
  • (gk) Goal kicker
  •   Injured

Updated: 29 May 2011
Source(s): Player profiles, Rugby League Project


Transfers

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Gains

Player Gained From
Adam Cuthbertson Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Daniel Penese Penrith Panthers
David Gower Wests Tigers

Losses

Player Lost To
Neville Costigan Newcastle Knights
Jeremy Smith Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Jarrod Saffy Melbourne Rebels
Ricky Thorby North Queensland Cowboys
Michael Lett Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs
Beau Henry Newcastle Knights
Kalifa Faifai Loa North Queensland Cowboys
Junior Paulo Penrith Panthers
Luke Priddis Retirement

References

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  1. ^ Wilson, Andy (27 February 2011). "Wigan Warriors make brave attempt but Dragons are still worlds apart". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2024.