St George Illawarra will head home to Kogarah's Netstrata Jubilee Stadium one last time in 2019 for their Round 23 NRL Telstra Premiership clash against the Sydney Roosters. Five things to factor into your Saturday evening are to follow.
Dragon's last hurrah
Although the Dragons have one last home game to come against the Wests Tigers at the Sydney Cricket Ground next weekend, St George Illawarra will bid adieu to their traditional venues for another season.
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For others, like skipper Gareth Widdop and prop Jeremy Latimore, it will be the final time they run out at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium in what is sure to be an emotional night for the Red V.
Widdop on brink of history
On Widdop, the Warrington Wolves-bound playmaker is closing in on a unique record never before seen in the NRL.
The Halifax-born Englishman is only 19 points away from becoming the first of his countrymen to score 1000 points in the NRL. With three games up his sleeve, the opportunity certainly isn't out of reach. Widdop is also closing in on 900 points for the Red V (currently on 890).
If not for two almost consecutive shoulder reconstructions, Widdop would likely have this record tied up already as well as St George Illawarra's top pointscorer record (Jamie Soward with 977 points).
Tricolours on the hunt
You can run but you can't hide when it comes to the Sydney Roosters' offence.
Not only does the team rule the roast as the most-prolific point scorers in 2019 (561), several of their own have dominated the predominant of attacking stats.
Latrell Mitchell has scored the most points (239), the most tries (17) and the most goals (85) competition-wide. James Tedesco sits at equal-fifth for tries scored (13), third for metres gained (3642) and first for line breaks (19) and tackle breaks (125).
An underrated member of the Tricolours' back-line remains Daniel Tupou who is sixth competition-wide for metres gained (3442) and fourth for post-contact metres (1108). Like Tedesco, he's also scored 13 tries.
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Third time's the charm
Saturday will spell just the third time St George Illawarra and the Sydney Roosters have played in Kogarah.
It's been six long years since it last occurred in what proved a forgettable game for the Red V. The soon to-be-crowned 2013 premiers ran riot in a 36-0 win.
The first time the two combatants met would come in 2009, a happier time given doubles to Matt Prior and Soward helped secure a 34-12 victory.
Perks of attending
The Dragons may be out of the finals race but there's still plenty of positives to attending this weekend. A huge clash with the defending premiers aside, the Dragons will also celebrate Member's Appreciation Round with a triple-header.
The Jersey Flegg Dragons will kick proceedings off at 3:15pm before the club's Canterbury Cup NSW team look to secure a top two berth at 5:15pm. Both outfits will play the New Zealand Warriors.
Rounding out the Red V's senior teams, the entire Dragons NRL Holden Women's Premiership team will presented to the Kogarah crowd ahead of their second-ever campaign.
Buy tickets to the Dragons' Round 23 clash against the Sydney Roosters here.
