St George Illawarra's 2023 draw has landed and while there are plenty of big home games to look forward to, there are also plenty of tough games and road trips to provide a stern test of the squad.
The Dragons' Draw
The start
Unfortunately the Red V drew the short straw in round one, being forced to sit out with a bye while the other 16 teams get their seasons underway.
But even though 15 clubs will have played two games by the time the Dragons hit the pitch in the final game of round two, fans will be able to get behind the team early with three of the club's first four matches being home games.
The Titans visit Kogarah to get things underway in round two before a trip to Brisbane in round three. That is followed by home games against the Sharks at Nestrata Jubilee Stadium in round four and new kids on the block the Dolphins at WIN Stadium in round five.
Day-by-day breakdown
Thur – 3, Fri – 4, Sat – 8, Sun – 8, Tue – 1.
The team has an even spread of days throughout the draw, and only one five-day turnaround – which unavoidably comes the Sunday after the Anzac Day game, which falls on a Tuesday this year.
Team-by-team breakdown
With 17 teams in the competition now and 24 regular season games per club, each team's draw features eight sides they only play once, and eight sides they play twice.
The Dragons have repeat games against the Titans, Sharks, Dolphins, Raiders, Roosters, Wests Tigers, Rabbitohs and Warriors.
The Red V takes on the Broncos, Bulldogs, Cowboys, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Eels, Storm and Knights once each through the regular season.
Road Trippin'
Dragons players will be racking up the frequent flyer miles in 2023 with just four of 12 away games in Sydney.
The team will visit Canberra and Auckland and has no fewer than six games in Queensland, including away games against all four Queensland clubs to go with Wests Tigers in Magic Round and a Rabbitohs game in Cairns.
The run home
The squad will be battle hardened by the end of the season with a five-game home stretch of Parramatta (away), South Sydney (in Cairns), the Storm (at WIN Stadium), the Warriors (in New Zealand) and finally the Knights at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
