Here is all you need to know about the St George Illawarra Dragons' 2020 Telstra Premiership draw.
The Lowdown
Teams they play twice
Wests Tigers, Titans, Sharks, Bulldogs, Roosters, Panthers, Raiders, Eels, Rabbitohs
Teams they play once
Knights, Warriors, Storm, Broncos, Sea Eagles, Cowboys
Day-by-day breakdown
Thursday - 4, Friday - 4, Saturday - 6, Sunday - 9, Monday - 1.
Five-day turnarounds
2 (Round 2, Round 24).
Kick-off
The Dragons will enjoy home games against Wests Tigers and the Panthers to begin the season before making the daunting trip to Canberra to face last season's grand finalists. A clash with Parramatta at Bankwest Stadium concludes the Red V's opening month.
Five key match-ups
Rabbitohs (Round 6, ANZ Stadium; Round 25, WIN Stadium): St George Illawarra looked to have pulled off an upset against Souths in round 19 to keep their slim finals hopes alive. Then the Rabbitohs regained the ball from a short kick-off and snatched the win on full-time. The bitter memories from that game may well be in the minds of the Dragons when they next meet Wayne Bennett's men. The famous clubs will again lock horns to conclude the regular season.
Roosters (Round 7, SCG; Round 17, SCG): One of the special events on the rugby league calendar, Dragons and Roosters fans always look forward to Anzac Day. The Dragons will hope to be in finals contention when they come up against the Tricolours just after the Origin period.
Knights (Round 9, McDonald Jones Stadium): Last season's heavy loss to the Knights has been labelled the moment St George Illawarra's campaign fell away. Avenging that thumping will go some way to exorcising any remaining demons.
Bulldogs (Round 13, ANZ Stadium; Round 22, WIN Stadium): It would have been enjoyable for the Dragons to cruise to two big victories over the Bulldogs last season given the history between the clubs. But Canterbury now seem to be on the up, so these matches could be tight.
Sharks (Round 14, Netstrata Jubliee Stadium; Round 24, Netstrata Jubilee Stadium): Beaten twice by "little brother" Cronulla in 2019, St George Illawarra have ample motivation to turn the tables. The fact the Sharks are now sharing the Dragons' spiritual home of Netstrata Jubilee Stadium will only add to a fierce local rivalry.
Toughest stretch
Rounds 4-8 offer little respite for the Dragons, with games against three of last season's top four in the Rabbitohs, Roosters and Storm - plus 2019 finalists Parramatta. Throw in the Warriors, who have had the wood over St George Illawarra recently, to cap off a stern early-year test.
And another thing
St George Illawarra's lone Monday game comes against the Bulldogs in the Queen's Birthday tussle.
