St. George Illawarra Dragons, Rugby League

The St. George Illawarra Dragons are 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-venture was formed between the St. George Dragons (est. 1921) and the Illawarra Steelers (est. 1982).[1] They officially formed as the game's first joint-venture club on 23 September 1998 and remain the only cross-city team in the NRL.[2] The team has its headquarters and leagues clubs in both Wollongong and the Sydney suburb of Kogarah, and train and play games regularly at WIN Stadium in Wollongong, as well as at Jubilee Oval in Kogarah.

The Dragons reached the Grand final in their first season in 1999, losing to the Melbourne Storm. St. George Illawarra are one of only two clubs (the other being the Sydney Roosters in 1908) to finish runners-up in their inaugural season. The St. George Illawarra Dragons also field teams in local competitions within the St. George and Illawarra regions. In 2010, the Dragons won their second successive minor premiership and became the first team to be awarded the J. J. Giltinan Shield in consecutive years since the National Rugby League was formed in 1998.

The Dragons won the 2010 NRL Grand Final against the Sydney Roosters, defeating them 32 - 8 at ANZ Stadium, Sydney. They then won the 2011 World Club Challenge, defeating the Wigan Warriors 21 - 15 at DW Stadium in the UK. With its World Club Challenge victory, the club became the first Australian team since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992-3 to win the minor premiership, premiership and World Club Challenge simultaneously. The UOW Jubilee Oval is the most used ground of the Dragons.