Wests Tigers 21–12 St George Illawarra — Elimination Final, 2011 NRL Finals Series
9 Sep 2011 · ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 45,631
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Elimination Final, 2011 NRL finals series: Wests Tigers 21–12 St George Illawarra, at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW on 9 Sep 2011.
Sourcing caveat: Only Marshall's opening try (4th minute) has a confirmed minute; the other four tries' minutes could not be verified from available sources. rugbyleagueproject.org's own match title labels this game a 'Qualifying Final' (4v5 pairing); this site follows the structural naming convention already used for 2012-2025, not a factual discrepancy.
Scorers
| Wests Tigers | Tries: Benji Marshall; Chris Heighington; Beau Ryan Goals: Benji Marshall (4/5 goals, 1 field goal) |
| St George Illawarra | Tries: Jason Nightingale; Mitch Rein Goals: Jamie Soward (2/4 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Wests Tigers | St George Illawarra | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Moltzen | Fullback | Darius Boyd | 1 |
| 2 | Beau Ryan | Wing | Brett Morris | 2 |
| 3 | Blake Ayshford | Centre | Mark Gasnier | 3 |
| 18 | Matt Utai | Centre | Matt Cooper | 4 |
| 5 | Lote Tuqiri | Wing | Jason Nightingale | 5 |
| 6 | Benji Marshall | Five-Eighth | Jamie Soward | 6 |
| 7 | Robert Lui | Halfback | Ben Hornby (c) | 7 |
| 8 | Bryce Gibbs | Prop | Dan Hunt | 8 |
| 9 | Robbie Farah (c) | Hooker | Mitch Rein | 18 |
| 10 | Keith Galloway | Prop | Michael Weyman | 10 |
| 11 | Liam Fulton | Second-Row | Beau Scott | 11 |
| 12 | Gareth Ellis | Second-Row | Ben Creagh | 12 |
| 13 | Chris Heighington | Lock | Dean Young | 9 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Mitch Brown | Matt Prior | 13 | |
| 15 | Mark Flanagan | Jon Green | 14 | |
| 16 | Matt Groat | Nathan Fien | 15 | |
| 17 | Aaron Woods | Trent Merrin | 17 | |
| Tim Sheens | Coach | Wayne Bennett | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Matt Cecchin and Tony Archer (two-referee system) |
Match report
Fourth-placed Wests Tigers hosted fifth-placed St George Illawarra at ANZ Stadium with a Semi-Final berth on the line, and a chance to avenge their heartbreaking one-point loss to the same Dragons side in the 2010 Preliminary Final. Benji Marshall set the tone inside four minutes, ghosting through off a deceptive miskick to put the Tigers ahead, but St George Illawarra hit back through Jason Nightingale and Mitch Rein to lead 12-6 at halftime. The Tigers took control after the break, running in two further tries — Chris Heighington finishing off a delayed Robert Lui pass, and Beau Ryan crossing off a slick team move started by Blake Ayshford — to swing momentum decisively their way. Marshall was the standout performer, scoring a try, landing four goals and sealing the result with a late field goal. The 21-12 victory sent Wests Tigers through to the Semi-Final, where they would go on to lose narrowly to the New Zealand Warriors the following week. For the Dragons, the loss ended their title defence after finishing fifth.