2008 St. George Illawarra Dragons season

The 2008 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the 10th in the joint venture club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2008 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 7th out of 16 teams, being knocked out in the finals by eventual premiers, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

2008 St. George Illawarra Dragons season
NRL Rank7th
2008 recordWins: 13; draws: 0; losses: 11
Points scoredFor: 495; against: 416
Team information
CoachAustralia Nathan Brown
Captain
StadiumWIN Jubilee Oval WIN Stadium
Top scorers
TriesJosh Morris (14)
GoalsJamie Soward (54)
PointsJamie Soward (129)
2009 →

NRL Telstra Premiership

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Having failed to bring the club a premiership during his current tenure with the Dragons and coming off contract at the end of the year, Coach Nathan Brown has had heat on him from 2007 to bring the Dragons up and away from the bottom of the ladder. Since the start of the 2008 season, the Dragons have had, once again, loss after loss which has caused Peter Doust (Dragons CEO), to bring in a new coach in the case of Brisbane Broncos current coach Wayne Bennett for the 2009 season up until 2011. The Dragons started the 2008 season by winning the Mercury Challenge match against the Bulldogs 40–30 at WIN Stadium in Wollongong and winning their first Toyota Cup trial match against Bulldogs at 30–22. The following week the Dragons went down to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the annual Charity Shield clash 24–20 at ANZ Stadium.

The club received a boost in May when former Union and League (Brisbane Broncos) star Wendell Sailor joined the team after a 2-year ban from professional sport in Australia due to his cocaine controversy. The Dragons started another year with disappointing results when they only won three times after 10 rounds, defeating the Gold Coast Titans in Round 2, the Sydney Roosters in Round 7 and the Melbourne Storm in Round 10 all with terrific results. On 23 May, the Dragons recorded their first back-to-back wins of the season when they defeated the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval with a final score of 20–18.

The Dragons new winger Wendell Sailor made his NRL return in this match also sustaining a minor cheekbone injury. The club also signed South Sydney Rabbitohs player Ben Rogers from an immediate release to join the Dragons on 12 June but released Jason Ryles from his contract to join the Catalans Dragons in the Super League for 2009.[1] Days later they signed New Zealand international and Melbourne Storm player Jeremy Smith for three seasons.

Their 7-game winning streak came to an end in Round 18 when they were defeated by the Canberra Raiders 19–12 at WIN Stadium for the Illawarra Heritage Match. On 15 July, it was announced that captain Mark Gasnier would not be returning after the end of the 2008 season to join the Stade Français Rugby Union team in France. The deal is worth around $1 million a year.

After 1 win in their last 5 games, the Dragons defeated the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium with a 24–20 win. Then in Round 24, they defeated the New Zealand Warriors 34–6 at WIN Stadium, Wollongong to keep their finals hopes alive. The dragons were favoured to defeat the Roosters in round 26 to either finish fourth or fifth. They had been playing widespread open football and Mark Gasnier and Matt Cooper were carving up the opposition. In extremely wet conditions, the Roosters pack were more favoured to the conditions. They finished the regular season 7th place on the ladder which could have been 6th if they scored at least 2 points in their Round 26 match with the Sydney Roosters. They made it to the first week of the finals, but lost to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 34–6 at Brookvale Oval being eliminated from the Finals series due to their lowly position in the Top 8.

The club went on a 'signing spree' purchasing Neville Costigan, Darius Boyd and Luke Priddis among others, but lost flyer Josh Morris (Bulldogs), Mark Gasnier (French Rugby), Jason Ryles (French league), Rangi Chase (ESL), Lagi Setu (Broncos) and Simon Woolford & Kirk Reynoldson with retirement.

Position Pld Won Drew Lost Bye Points For Points Against Points Differential
7th (of 16) 24 13 0 11 2 489 378 111

2008 Match results

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*From Round 5 onwards, all games are in AEST.

Round Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue
Trial   St. George Illawarra Dragons 40-30   Bulldogs 23 February 2008, 7:30pm AEDT WIN Stadium
CS   St. George Illawarra Dragons 20-24   South Sydney Rabbitohs 1 March 2008, 8:00pm AEDT ANZ Stadium
1   Wests Tigers 24-16   St. George Illawarra Dragons 16 March 2008, 3:00pm AEDT Sydney Football Stadium
2   St. George Illawarra Dragons 30-12   Gold Coast Titans 24 March 2008, 7:00pm AEDT WIN Stadium
3   Canberra Raiders 21-14   St. George Illawarra Dragons 29 March 2008, 7:30pm AEDT Canberra Stadium
4   St. George Illawarra Dragons 16-18   Cronulla Sharks 5 April 2008, 5:30pm AEDT ANZ Stadium
5   St. George Illawarra Dragons 16-20   North Queensland Cowboys 12 April 2008, 5:30pm WIN Stadium
6   Bulldogs 30-18   St. George Illawarra Dragons 19 April 2008, 5:30pm ANZ Stadium
7   St. George Illawarra Dragons 26-6   Sydney Roosters 25 April 2008, 3:15pm ANZ Stadium
8 BYE
9   Parramatta Eels 19-18   St. George Illawarra Dragons 11 May 2008, 3:00pm ANZ Stadium
10   St. George Illawarra Dragons 36-12   Melbourne Storm 17 May 2008, 7:30pm ANZ Stadium
11   Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 18-20   St. George Illawarra Dragons 23 May 2008, 7:45pm Brookvale Oval
12   South Sydney Rabbitohs 12-26   St. George Illawarra Dragons 1 June 2008, 2:00pm ANZ Stadium
13   St. George Illawarra Dragons 28-10   Brisbane Broncos 6 June 2008, 7:45pm WIN Stadium
14 BYE
15   St. George Illawarra Dragons 13-12   Penrith Panthers 20 June 2008, 7:45pm ANZ Stadium
16   Gold Coast Titans 22-26   St. George Illawarra Dragons 28 June 2008, 5:30pm Skilled Park
17   Newcastle Knights 16-24   St. George Illawarra Dragons 5 July 2008, 7:30pm EnergyAustralia Stadium
18   St. George Illawarra Dragons 12-19   Canberra Raiders 13 July 2008, 2:00pm WIN Stadium
19   Melbourne Storm 26-0   St. George Illawarra Dragons 21 July 2008, 7:00pm Olympic Park Stadium
20   St. George Illawarra Dragons 30-0   Bulldogs 28 July 2008, 7:00pm ANZ Stadium
21   Cronulla Sharks 13-12   St. George Illawarra Dragons 2 August 2008, 5:30pm Toyota Park
22   St. George Illawarra Dragons 10-18   Wests Tigers 8 August 2008, 7:35pm WIN Stadium
23   Brisbane Broncos 20-24   St. George Illawarra Dragons 15 August 2008, 7:35pm Suncorp Stadium
24   St. George Illawarra Dragons 34-6   New Zealand Warriors 24 August 2008, 3:00pm WIN Stadium
25   St. George Illawarra Dragons 40-14   Parramatta Eels 30 September 2008, 7:30pm ANZ Stadium
26   Sydney Roosters 10-0   St. George Illawarra Dragons 5 September 2008, 7:35pm Sydney Football Stadium
QF   Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 38-6   St. George Illawarra Dragons 13 September 2008, 8:30pm Brookvale Oval

Ladder

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Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1   Melbourne Storm 24 17 0 7 2 584 282 +302 38
2   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P) 24 17 0 7 2 645 355 +290 38
3   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 17 0 7 2 451 384 +67 38
4   Sydney Roosters 24 15 0 9 2 511 446 +65 34
5   Brisbane Broncos 24 14 1 9 2 560 452 +108 33
6   Canberra Raiders 24 13 0 11 2 640 527 +113 30
7   St George Illawarra Dragons 24 13 0 11 2 489 378 +111 30
8   New Zealand Warriors 24 13 0 11 2 502 567 -65 30
9   Newcastle Knights 24 12 0 12 2 516 486 +30 28
10   Wests Tigers 24 11 0 13 2 528 560 -32 26
11   Parramatta Eels 24 11 0 13 2 501 547 -46 26
12   Penrith Panthers 24 10 1 13 2 504 611 -107 25
13   Gold Coast Titans 24 10 0 14 2 476 586 -110 24
14   South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 8 0 16 2 453 666 -213 20
15   North Queensland Cowboys 24 5 0 19 2 474 638 -164 14
16   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24 5 0 19 2 433 782 -349 14

Gains and Losses

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Gains

Player Previous Club
Kirk Reynoldson Newcastle Knights
Stuart Webb South Sydney Rabbitohs
Ben Rogers (mid-season) South Sydney Rabbitohs
Jon Green Bulldogs
Jarrod Saffy Wests Tigers
Jardine Bobongie North Sydney Bears
Joe Falemaka North Sydney Bears

Losses

Player Joined Club
Wes Naiqama Newcastle Knights
Danny Wicks Newcastle Knights
Chris Houston Newcastle Knights
Keith Lulia Newcastle Knights
Ashton Sims Brisbane Broncos
Tom Hewitt Brisbane Broncos
Corey Payne Wests Tigers
Adam Peek Cronulla Sharks
Charlie Leaeno Bulldogs

First Grade Signed Players

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St George Illawarra Dragons has 31 signed players in first grade that play in the main competition.

No. Position Player

Jardine Bobongie LK Rangi Chase SR Matt Cooper CE Ben Creagh SR Ben Ellis HK Joe Falemaka PR Mark Gasnier (captain) CE Jon Green PR Mark Hendy CE Ben Hornby HB Dan Hunt PR Michael Lett WG Brett Morris FB Josh Morris WG Jason Nightingale WG Justin Poore PR

No. Position Player

Matt Prior SR Alex Ranieri HK Kirk Reynoldson SR Jason Ryles PR Jarrod Saffy SR Frank Samia CE Wendell Sailor WG Beau Scott SR Lagi Setu LK Jamie Soward FE Chase Stanley CE Ricky Thorby PR Stuart Webb LK Simon Woolford HK Dean Young HK

Team Lineup

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Line up for the Qualifying Finals vs. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles:
Saturday, 13 September 2008 at 8:30pm AEST at Brookvale Oval, Sydney.

No. Position Player

1 Jason Nightingale FB 2 Wendell Sailor WG 3 Mark Gasnier CE (captain) 4 Matt Cooper CE 5 Josh Morris WG 6 Ben Rogers FE 7 Ben Hornby HB 8 Beau Scott PR 9 Stuart Webb HK 10 Jason Ryles PR 11 Lagi Setu SR 12 Ben Creagh SR 13 Dean Young LK

No. Position Player

14 Dan Hunt PR 15 Matt Prior PR 16 Kirk Reynoldson SR 17 Ben Ellis HK Jarrod Saffy SR Jamie Soward FE Simon Woolford HK Rangi Chase LK Michael Lett CE Brett Morris FB Chase Stanley (injured ankle; Semi-finals) CE Justin Poore (injured knee; Season) PR Ricky Thorby (injured ribs; Season) PR

  • Last 9 are currently inactive due to injury, fulfilling other commitments, being used as "spares" or playing in lower grades. e.g. NSW Cup, Queensland Cup or Toyota Cup.

National Youth Competition (Toyota Cup Under 20s)

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The Dragons U20s side were strong off from the start. For the Toyota Cup inaugural season, the Dragons Under-20s Side is coached by Steven Price. Before the regular season began, the Dragons won a Toyota Cup Trial match against the Bulldogs down at WIN Stadium in Wollongong. They started the regular season disappointing with a 34–22 loss to the Wests Tigers. However, the Dragons have not lost another match after that with 1 bye in their past leaving them on top of the Toyota Cup table, on 22 competition points. Their 10-match winning streak came to an end in Round 13 at WIN Stadium when they drew 22 all with the Brisbane Broncos. While the first Grade side continued their winning streak, the Under 20s were looking to start a losing streak as they were defeated back-to-back for the first time this year by the Penrith Panthers 28–26 in Round 15 at ANZ Stadium and 32-16 by the Gold Coast Titans at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast. They returned to the winners circle in Round 17 defeating the Newcastle Knights 26–18 at EnergyAustralia Stadium. In Round 18, straight after a fresh win, they once again lost a match this time against the Canberra Raiders 38–28 at WIN Stadium. They then had back and forth wins during the regular season keeping them in the top 8, struggling to keep their spot(s).

Toyota Cup signed players

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The following 34 players are signed with the St. George Illawarra Dragons for the Toyota Cup.

No. Position Player

Chris Astill WG Jace Brown WG Rowan Brown LK Josh Cochrane PR Rhys Cochrane PR Nathan Dureau FE Daniel Fepuleai HK Thomas Hancock PR Beau Henry FE Gavin Hood HB Brad Hudson SR Ben Josephs SR John Kennedy (captain) HB Maurice Kennedy FE Cameron King CE Kane Linnett CE Jake Marketo SR

No. Position Player

Trent Merrin PR Sam Morath FB Clifford Morris WG Matt Mundine LK Luke Muttdon LK Daniel Nicastri CE Rory O'Brien PR Michael Pickerd LK Henry Raiwalui WG Travis Roche PR Ben Schreiber SR Brendan Smith LK Kyle Stanley LK Wes Suckley LK Jarrod Thompson SR Joe Vickory WG Dean Whare CE

Toyota Cup lineup

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This is the Dragons' Toyota Cup weekly lineup.
Lineup for the Preliminary Finals vs. Canberra Raiders:
Friday, 26 September 2008 at 5:30 pm AEST at the Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney.

No. Position Player

1 Henry Raiwalui FB 2 Daniel Nicastri WG 3 Kane Linnett CE 4 Dean Whare CE 5 Sam Morath WG 6 Nathan Dureau FE 7 John Kennedy HB (captain) 8 Rory O'Brien PR 9 Daniel Fepuleai HK 10 Trent Merrin PR 11 Jake Marketo SR 12 Jarrod Thompson SR 13 Clifford Morris LK

No. Position Player

14 Thomas Hancock HK 15 Wes Suckley SR 16 Luke Muttdon SR 17 Cameron King PR (18) Ben Schreiber HK Beau Henry PR Maurice Kennedy FE Brad Hudson SR Alex McKinnon LK Matt Mundine LK Travis Roche WG Jace Brown WG Joe Vickery WG

  • 1 Interchange player to be omitted before game.
  • Last 6 are currently inactive due to injury, fulfilling other commitments, being used as "spares" or playing in the NSW Cup or the S.G. Ball Cup.

Ladder

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Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1   Canberra Raiders (P) 24 18 0 6 2 744 581 +163 40
2   Brisbane Broncos 24 15 1 8 2 684 476 +208 35
3   New Zealand Warriors 24 14 3 7 2 721 533 +188 35
4   Penrith Panthers 24 15 1 8 2 692 583 +109 35
5   Parramatta Eels 24 14 3 7 2 578 564 +14 35
6   St George Illawarra Dragons 24 13 2 9 2 561 520 +41 32
7   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24 12 3 9 2 711 587 +124 31
8   Gold Coast Titans 24 13 1 10 2 686 567 +119 31
9   Wests Tigers 24 13 0 11 2 620 623 -3 30
10   South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 11 2 11 2 618 584 +34 28
11   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 24 11 0 13 2 519 532 -13 26
12   Newcastle Knights 24 8 1 15 2 526 630 -104 21
13   Melbourne Storm 24 8 1 15 2 512 638 -126 21
14   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 6 1 17 2 394 666 -272 17
15   Sydney Roosters 24 6 0 18 2 480 721 -241 16
16   North Queensland Cowboys 24 4 3 17 2 455 696 -241 15

References

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  1. ^ Webster, Andrew (21 June 2008). "Ryles quits Dragons". Illawarra Mercury. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2008.