Club ANZAC Game
Encyclopedia
The Club ANZAC Game is an annual Rugby league football match played between National Rugby League
clubs Sydney Roosters
and St. George Illawarra Dragons. It is played on Anzac Day
, the 25 April, each year. The match has taken place since the 2002 season, the ANZAC day clash with two traditional rivals the Sydney Roosters
and St. George Illawarra Dragons to commemorate Anzac Day. These games generally have crowd numbers of 25,000 - 30,000 attending the games, with a record of 36,212 attending in 2010. These games are played at the Sydney Football Stadium (except in 2008 where it was played at ANZ Stadium). The player judged man-of-the-match in the Club Anzac game has been awarded the "Spirit of ANZAC" medal since 2009. The Nine Network
does not exclusively broadcast the match. In 2004 and 2010 however, the Nine Network did broadcast this match as it was played on Sundays in these years. In recent seasons the Melbourne Storm
and New Zealand Warriors
have developed a tradition of also playing each other on ANZAC Day since 2009; their match is played in Melbourne either in twilight or in the evening.
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
clubs Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
and St. George Illawarra Dragons. It is played on Anzac Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
, the 25 April, each year. The match has taken place since the 2002 season, the ANZAC day clash with two traditional rivals the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
and St. George Illawarra Dragons to commemorate Anzac Day. These games generally have crowd numbers of 25,000 - 30,000 attending the games, with a record of 36,212 attending in 2010. These games are played at the Sydney Football Stadium (except in 2008 where it was played at ANZ Stadium). The player judged man-of-the-match in the Club Anzac game has been awarded the "Spirit of ANZAC" medal since 2009. The Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
does not exclusively broadcast the match. In 2004 and 2010 however, the Nine Network did broadcast this match as it was played on Sundays in these years. In recent seasons the Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
and New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
have developed a tradition of also playing each other on ANZAC Day since 2009; their match is played in Melbourne either in twilight or in the evening.
Summary
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | PF | PA | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney Roosters Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League... |
10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 129 | 211 | -82 |
| St. George Illawarra Dragons | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 211 | 129 | +82 |
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Significant Events and Statistics
- The first four matches were decided by four points or less:
- The Roosters won the first match by a scoreline of just 24-22.
- The Dragons won the next match after that, with a 24-20 scoreline in which the Dragons scored all their points after just nine minutes.
- The Roosters won the 2004 match by a scoreline of 11-8. Only one try by each side was scored; but it was the Roosters' goal-kicking (and the Dragons' ill-discipline) that won the Roosters the match.
- The Dragons won the 2005 match 26-24, with Dragons' centre Matt Cooper scoring a Billy SlaterBilly SlaterBilly Slater is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League . An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative fullback, he has played his whole NRL career to date at Melbourne...
Origin-like try with less than five minutes remaining on the clock. The sideline conversion from Mathew Head was nailed, giving the Dragons just their second win of the 2005 season.
- The Dragons won the 2006 match 22-12.
- The Roosters won the 2007 match 18-4. This still remains as the Roosters' biggest winning margin in the history of the Club ANZAC Game. The Roosters' win marked not just their first win for their 2007 season (after a shocking start which netted no wins and no premiership points from six rounds) but also their 1000th win ever, thus becoming the first (and so far only) team ever to achieve this.
- In the only match to be played at ANZ Stadium, the Dragons won 26-6.
- The 2009 match saw the Dragons shut the Roosters out with a 29-0 victory. This remains the biggest winning margin in the history of the Club ANZAC Game to date.
- The Dragons also won the 2010 match by 28-6 after trailing 6-4 at halftime. This was the first instance in three matches that the Dragons trailed the Roosters at halftime, and then went on to win the match and thus keep the Roosters scoreless.
- The 2011 match brings the biggest significance in that it is the teams' first match-up since the 2010 NRL Grand Final2010 NRL Grand FinalThe 2010 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2010 NRL season. Played on Sunday, 3 October at Sydney's ANZ Stadium, the match was contested by the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters. It was the first time the two sides met in a grand final. They...
.