2020 St. George Illawarra Dragons season explained

Ceo:	Ryan Webb
League Wins:	7
Year:	2020
Top Tries:	Mikaele Ravalawa, Matt Dufty & Zac Lomax (13)
Top Points:	Zac Lomax (178)
Top Goals:	Zac Lomax (63)
Stadium:	Netstrata Jubilee Stadium WIN Stadium Campbelltown Stadium
Prev Season:	2019
Points For:	378
Points Against:	452
Next Season:	2021
League Rank:	12th
Ceo Title:	CEO
League Losses:	13
League Draws:	0
League:	NRL
Cup Result:	Runners-Up
Cup:	NRL Nines
Captain:	Cameron McInnes

The 2020 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the 22nd in the joint venture club's history. The Dragons' men's team competed in the NRL's 2020 Telstra Premiership season. The women's team, meanwhile will play their third season in the NRLW's 2020 Telstra Women's Premiership season. Both teams competed in the 2020 NRL Nines, with the men's side coming runners-up and the women's side winning the tournament.

On 13 August, Paul McGregor departed as the head coach of the men's team. Assistant coach Dean Young took over as the interim coach of the first team for the remainder of the season.^[1]

Squad

Gains and losses

or	Player	2019 Club	2020 Club	Source
	Billy Brittain	South Sydney Rabbitohs	St. George Illawarra Dragons	^[2] ^[3]
	Kaide Ellis	Penrith Panthers	St. George Illawarra Dragons	^[4]
	Tyrell Fuimaono	Penrith Panthers	St. George Illawarra Dragons	^[5]
	Issac Luke	New Zealand Warriors	St. George Illawarra Dragons	^[6]
	Trent Merrin	Leeds Rhinos (Super League)	St. George Illawarra Dragons	^[7]
	Brayden Wiliame	Catalans Dragons (Super League)	St. George Illawarra Dragons	^[8]
	Mitchell Allgood	St. George Illawarra Dragons	London Broncos (RFL Championship)	^[9]
	James Graham	St. George Illawarra Dragons	St Helens (Super League)	^[10]
	Patrick Kaufusi	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Townsville Blackhawks (Intrust Super Cup)	^[11]
	Tim Lafai	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	^[12] ^[13]
	Jeremy Latimore	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Retirement	^[14]
	data-sort-value="Marketo, Jake"	Luciano Leilua	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Wests Tigers
	Issac Luke	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Brisbane Broncos	^[15]
	Lachlan Maranta	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Wynnum Manly Seagulls (Intrust Super Cup)	^[16]
	Darren Nicholls	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Souths Logan Magpies (Intrust Super Cup)	^[17]
	Jonus Pearson	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Gold Coast Titans	^[18]
	Reece Robson	St. George Illawarra Dragons	North Queensland Cowboys	^[19]
	Gareth Widdop	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Warrington Wolves (Super League)	^[20]

Ladder

NRL Nines

See main article: 2020 NRL Nines.

Finals

Ladder progression

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Ladder position	13th	13th	14th	16th	14th	12th	12th	13th	11th	11th	11th	11th	12th	11th	10th	10th	11th	13th	13th	12th
Source:^[21]

Season results

NRL Nines

Round	Home	Score	Away	Match information
				Date and time (AEDT)	Venue	Referee	Attendance	Source
Pool stage	St George Illawarra Dragons	27 – 5	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Friday, 14 February, 8:45pm	HBF Park	Chris Butler	10,128	^[22]
Pool stage	Parramatta Eels	15 – 7	St George Illawarra Dragons	Saturday, 15 February, 3:25pm	HBF Park		14,739	^[23]
Quarter-final	St George Illawarra Dragons	17 – 14	Penrith Panthers	Saturday, 15 February, 6:05pm	HBF Park	Ben Cummins	14,739	^[24]
Semi-final	Parramatta Eels	6  - 8	St George Illawarra Dragons	Saturday, 15 February, 8:20pm	HBF Park	Grant Atkins	14,739	^[25]
Grand Final	St George Illawarra Dragons	14 – 23	North Queensland Cowboys	Saturday, 15 February, 10:00pm	HBF Park	Grant Atkins	14,739	^[26]

Pre-season trials

Round	Home	Score	Away	Match information
				Date and time (AEDT)	Venue	Referee	Attendance	Source
1	Newcastle Knights	12  - 38	St George Illawarra Dragons	Saturday, 22 February, 5:30pm	Maitland No.1 Sportsground	Matt Cecchin, Jon Stone	—	^[27]
2 (Charity Shield)	South Sydney Rabbitohs	26  - 12	St George Illawarra Dragons	Saturday, 29 February, 7:00pm	Glen Willow Regional Sports Stadium	Ashley Klein, Gavin Badger	9,124	^[28]

NRL season

Round	Home	Score	Away	Match information
width=17%	Date and time (AEDT)	width=22%	Venue	width=50%	Referee	width=7%	Attendance	Source
1	St. George Illawarra Dragons	14 – 24	Wests Tigers	Sunday, 15 March, 6:15pm	WIN Stadium	Ashley Klein, Phil Henderson	9,137	^[29]
2	St. George Illawarra Dragons	28 – 32	Penrith Panthers	Friday, 20 March, 6:00pm	Netstrata Jubilee Stadium	Matt Cecchin, Jon Stone	0	^[30]
3	New Zealand Warriors	18 – 0	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Saturday, 30 May, 3:00pm	Central Coast Stadium	Chris Sutton	0	^[31]
4 (Queen's Birthday)	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	22 – 2	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Monday, 8 June, 4:05pm	Bankwest Stadium	Henry Perenara	0	^[32]
5	St. George Illawarra Dragons	30 – 16	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Sunday, 14 June, 6:30pm	Campbelltown Stadium	Henry Perenara	—	^[33]
6	Gold Coast Titans	8 – 20	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Saturday, 20 June, 3:00pm	Suncorp Stadium	Chris Sutton	1,930	^[34]
7	Sydney Roosters	26 – 12	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Friday, 26 June, 7:55pm	Bankwest Stadium	Grant Atkins	—	^[35]
8	Canberra Raiders	22 – 16	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Friday, 3 July, 6:00pm	GIO Stadium	Matt Cecchin	2,500	^[36]
9	St. George Illawarra Dragons	34 – 4	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Sunday, 12 July, 6:30pm	Netstrata Jubilee Stadium	Matt Cecchin	1,571	^[37]
10	St. George Illawarra Dragons	28 – 22	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Saturday, 18 July, 3:00pm	WIN Stadium	Henry Perenara	1,619	^[38]
11	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	28 – 24	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Saturday, 25 July, 5:30pm	Netstrata Jubilee Stadium	Grant Atkins	3,179	^[39]
12	St. George Illawarra Dragons	24 – 32	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Thursday, 30 July, 7:50pm	Netstrata Jubilee Stadium	Ashley Klein	2,719	^[40]
13	St. George Illawarra Dragons	16 – 24	Sydney Roosters	Thursday, 6 August, 7:50pm	WIN Stadium	Ashley Klein	—	^[41]
14	Parramatta Eels	12 – 14	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Friday, 14 August, 7:55pm	Bankwest Stadium	Grant Atkins	—	^[42]
15	Brisbane Broncos	24 – 28	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Friday, 21 August, 7:55pm	Suncorp Stadium	Henry Perenara	—	^[43]
16	St. George Illawarra Dragons	10 – 14	Gold Coast Titans	Friday, 28 August, 6:00pm	Netstrata Jubilee Stadium	Henry Perenara	2,097	^[44]
17	North Queensland Cowboys	23 – 22	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Sunday, 6 September, 6:30pm	Queensland Country Bank Stadium	Adam Gee	6,755	^[45]
18	St. George Illawarra Dragons	8 – 37	Canberra Raiders	Saturday, 12 September, 3:00pm	WIN Stadium	Adam Gee → Matt Cecchin	2,588	^[46]
19	Newcastle Knights	42 – 18	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Sunday, 20 September, 4:05pm	McDonald Jones Stadium	Grant Atkins	6,659	^[47]
20	St. George Illawarra Dragons	30 – 22	Melbourne Storm	Sunday, 27 September, 4:05pm	Netstrata Jubilee Stadium	Matt Cecchin	2,738	^[48]

Notes

^aMatches in rounds two, three and four were played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[49]

^bAdam Gee was substituted after half time as referee in the round 18 game for Matt Cecchin after receiving a calf injury during the game.^[50]

Representative honours

Player	2020 All Stars match	State of Origin
Josh Kerr	Indigenous All Stars	Queensland
Tyrell Fuimaono	Indigenous All Stars	–
Issac Luke	Māori All Stars	–
Tyson Frizell	–	New South Wales
Zac Lomax	–	New South Wales
Cameron McInnes	–	New South Wales
Ben Hunt	–	Queensland

Notes and References

1. Web site: Paul McGregor to part ways with Dragons . Dragons.com.au . 13 August 2020.
2. Web site: St George Illawarra sign South Sydney hooker Billy Brittain. www.sportingnews.com. en-au. 2020-02-22.
3. Web site: Dragons trio earn contract promotions. 2020-03-03. St George Illawarra Dragons. en. 2020-03-03.
4. Web site: 2020-07-11. Dragons relief after snapping up Graham replacement. 2020-07-12. The West Australian. en.
5. Web site: Dragons sign Fuimaono. 2020-01-07. St George Illawarra Dragons. en. 2020-01-07.
6. Web site: Dragons confirm Luke signing. 2019-11-18. St George Illawarra Dragons. en. 2020-01-07.
7. Web site: Matt Prior, Trent Merrin, Luciano Leilua contracts: Three-player swap deal sealed. 2019-11-29. National Rugby League. en. 2020-01-07.
8. Web site: Wiliame joins the Dragons. 2019-12-17. St George Illawarra Dragons. en. 2020-01-07.
9. Web site: London Broncos RL #LB4020. londonbroncosrl.com. 2020-02-07. 2020-02-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20200207041035/https://londonbroncosrl.com/news/its-allgood-as-mitch-joins-the-broncos/. dead.
10. Web site: 2020-06-25. Dragons officially release James Graham. 2020-06-25. National Rugby League. en.
11. Web site: Blackhawks sign Patrick Kaufusi. 2020-02-06. Queensland Rugby League. en. 2020-02-07.
12. Web site: 2020-07-20. Dragons release Tim Lafai. 2020-07-20. St George Illawarra Dragons. en.
13. Web site: 2020-07-20. Tim Lafai back in the Pack for remainder of 2020 Season. 2020-07-20. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. en.
14. Web site: Latimore to retire at season's end. 2019-07-29. National Rugby League. en. 2020-01-07.
15. Web site: 2020-06-13. Hunt may be switched to hooker as family draws Luke to Brisbane. 2020-06-13. National Rugby League. en.
16. Web site: NRL 2019: Off-contract players, signings, transfers, rumours, players without contracts for 2020. 2019-11-26. Fox Sports. en-AU. 2020-01-07.
17. Web site: Teacher Nicholls still excited to learn with the Magpies. 2020-02-24. Queensland Rugby League. en. 2020-05-24.
18. Web site: Dragons release Pearson. 2019-12-18. St George Illawarra Dragons. en. 2020-01-07.
19. Web site: Cowboys sign Junior Kangaroo. 2019-08-12. North Queensland Cowboys. en. 2020-01-07.
20. News: Warrington Wolves sign England stand-off and NRL star Gareth Widdop from St George Illawarra from 2020. Sport. Telegraph. 2019-01-15. The Telegraph. 2020-01-07. en-GB. 0307-1235.
21. Web site: Ladder. National Rugby League. en. 2020-03-13.
22. Web site: Dragons v Sharks - Round 1, 2020 - Match Centre. National Rugby League. en. 2020-02-15.
23. Web site: Eels v Dragons - Round 2, 2020 - Match Centre. National Rugby League. en. 2020-02-15.
24. Web site: Dragons v Panthers - Quarter-finals, 2020 - Match Centre. National Rugby League. en. 2020-02-15.
25. Web site: Eels v Dragons - Semi-finals, 2020 - Match Centre. National Rugby League. en. 2020-02-15.
26. Web site: Game 1 - Grand Final, 2020 - Match Centre. National Rugby League. en. 2020-02-15.
27. Web site: Knights v Dragons - Round 2, 2020 - Match Centre. National Rugby League. en. 2020-02-22.
28. Web site: Rabbitohs v Dragons - Round 3, 2020 - Match Centre. National Rugby League. en. 2020-02-29.
29. Web site: Dragons v Wests Tigers. National Rugby League. en. 2020-03-12.
30. Web site: Dragons v Panthers. National Rugby League. en. 2020-03-20.
31. Web site: Warriors v Dragons. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-15.
32. Web site: Bulldogs v Dragons. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-15.
33. Web site: Dragons v Sharks. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
34. Web site: Titans v Dragons. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
35. Web site: Roosters v Dragons. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
36. Web site: Raiders v Dragons. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
37. Web site: Dragons v Sea Eagles. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
38. Web site: Dragons v Bulldogs. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
39. Web site: Sharks v Dragons. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
40. Web site: Dragons v Rabbitohs. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
41. Web site: Dragons v Roosters. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
42. Web site: Eels v Dragons. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
43. Web site: Broncos v Dragons. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
44. Web site: Dragons v Titans. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
45. Web site: Cowboys v Dragons. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
46. Web site: Dragons v Raiders. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
47. Web site: Knights v Dragons. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
48. Web site: Dragons v Storm. National Rugby League. en. 2020-05-21.
49. Web site: NRL opening round going ahead as PM declares ban on public gatherings. 2020-03-13. National Rugby League. en. 2020-03-13.
50. Web site: 2020-09-12. Reborn Young sparks Raiders to big win over Dragons. 2020-09-12. National Rugby League. en.