Club ANZAC Game

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.^[1] 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.

Summary

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	PF	PA	PD
Sydney Roosters	10	3	0	7	129	211	-82
St. George Illawarra Dragons	10	7	0	3	211	129	+82

Results

2002

Friday, 25 April Round 7, 2002	St George Illawarra	20 - 24	Sydney Roosters	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney[2] Attendance: 20,588 Referee/s: Tony Archer
	Tries: Willie Peters (1) Trent Barrett (1) Nathan Tutt (1) Goals: Aaron Gorrell (3/3) Amos Roberts (1/1)	(Report)	Tries: Shannon Hegarty (1) Luke Phillips (1) Craig Wing (1) Justin Holbrook (1) Goals: Justin Holbrook (4/5)

2003

Saturday, 25 April Round 7, 2003	Sydney Roosters	20 - 24	St George Illawarra	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney[3] Attendance: 26,014 Referee/s: Shayne Hayne
	Tries: Shannon Hegarty (1) Justin Hodges (1) Brett Finch (1) Brad Fittler (1) Goals: Craig Fitzgibbon (2/4)	(Report)	Tries: Trent Barrett (1) Chris Nero (1) Brett Firman (1) Mark Riddell (1) Goals: Mark Riddell (4/4)

2004

Sunday, 25 April Round 7, 2004	Sydney Roosters	11 - 8	St George Illawarra	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney[4] Attendance: 26,246 Referee/s: Steve Clark
	Tries: Brad Fittler (1) Goals: Michael Crocker (2/3) Chris Walker (1/1) Field Goals: Brett Finch (1)	(Report)	Tries: Reece Simmonds (1) Goals: Mathew Head (2/2)

2005

Monday, 25 April Round 7, 2005	Sydney Roosters	24 - 26	St George Illawarra	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney[5] Attendance: 32,270 Referee/s: Sean Hampstead
	Tries: Chris Walker (2) Ryan Cross (1) Anthony Minichiello (1) Goals: Craig Fitzgibbon (3/3) Amos Roberts (1/1)	(Report)	Tries: Ben Hornby (2) Shaun Timmins (1) Matt Cooper (rugby league) (1) Goals: Mathew Head (5/6)

2006

Tuesday, 25 April Round 7, 2006	Sydney Roosters	12 - 22	St George Illawarra	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney[6] Attendance: 31,105 Referee/s: Steve Clark
	Tries: David Shillington (1) Amos Roberts (1) Goals: Craig Fitzgibbon (2/2)	(Report)	Tries: Wes Naiqama (2) Matt Bickerstaff (1) Mark Gasnier (1) Goals: Mathew Head (3/5)

2007

Wednesday, 25 April Round 7, 2007	Sydney Roosters	18 - 4	St George Illawarra	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney[7] Attendance: 18,240 Referee/s: Paul Simpkins
	Tries: Shaun Kenny-Dowall (2) Sam Perrett (1) Goals: Craig Fitzgibbon (3/5)	(Report)	Tries: Chase Stanley (1) Goals: Wes Naiqama (0/1)

2008

Friday, 25 April Round 7, 2008	St George Illawarra	26 - 6	Sydney Roosters	Stadium Australia, Sydney[8] Attendance: 21,596 Referee/s: Sean Hampstead
	Tries: Josh Morris (1) Jason Nightingale (1) Brett Morris (1) Ben Hornby (1) Goals: Jamie Soward (5/6)	(Report)	Tries: Anthony Tupou (1) Goals: Craig Fitzgibbon (1/1)

2009

Saturday, 25 April Round 7, 2009	Sydney Roosters	0 - 29	St George Illawarra	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney[9] Attendance: 28,926 Referee/s: Shayne Hayne, Tony De Las Heras
		(Report)	Tries: Jamie Soward (2) Jason Nightingale (1) Brett Morris (1) Goals: Jamie Soward (6/6) Field Goals: Jamie Soward (1)

2010

Sunday, 25 April Round 7, 2010	Sydney Roosters	6 - 28	St George Illawarra	Sydney Football Stadium Attendance: 36,212 Referee/s: Tony Archer, Alan Shortall Man of the Match: Darius Boyd
	Tries: Mitchell Aubusson(1) Goals: Todd Carney (1/2)	(Report)	Tries: Matt Cooper (2) Brett Morris (1) Trent Merrin (1) Luke Priddis (1) Goals: Jamie Soward (4/5)

2011

Monday, 25 April Round 7, 2011	Sydney Roosters	10 - 24	St George Illawarra	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 34,976 Man of the Match: Darius Boyd
	Tries: Justin Carney(1) Mitchell Pearce(1) Goals: Braith Anasta (1/2)		Tries: Mark Gasnier (1) Brett Morris (1) Darius Boyd (1) Ben Creagh (1) Goals: Jamie Soward (4/4)

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 Slater 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 Final.

References

1. ^ AAP (23 April 2009). "The NRL has failed to promise the Storm a regular clash on Anzac Day". Fox Sports. http://www.foxsports.com.au/breaking-news/no-guarantees-for-storms-anzac-clash/story-e6frf33c-1225702855623. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
2. ^ http://stats.rleague.com/rl/scorers/games/200207.html#0929
3. ^ http://stats.rleague.com/rl/scorers/games/200307.html#0929
4. ^ http://stats.rleague.com/rl/scorers/games/200407.html#0929
5. ^ http://stats.rleague.com/rl/scorers/games/200507.html#0929
6. ^ http://stats.rleague.com/rl/scorers/games/200607.html#0929
7. ^ http://stats.rleague.com/rl/scorers/games/200707.html#0929
8. ^ http://stats.rleague.com/rl/scorers/games/200807.html#0929
9. ^ http://stats.rleague.com/rl/scorers/games/200907.html#0929