King's Birthday match (NRL)
| Location | Stadium Australia, Sydney | 
|---|---|
| Teams |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs  Parramatta Eels (2022–present)  St. George Illawarra Dragons (2015–2021) | 
| First meeting | 8 June 2015 Canterbury 29 def. St. George Illawarra 16 | 
| Latest meeting | 9 June 2025 Canterbury 30 def. Parramatta 12 | 
| Next meeting | 8 June 2026 | 
| Broadcasters | Fox League | 
| Statistics | |
| Most wins |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 8 wins | 
| Largest victory |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 30 points (13 June 2022) | 
The King's Birthday match (from 2015 to 2022, the Queen's Birthday match) is an annual rugby league match held on the King's Birthday Holiday in Australia between the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the St. George Illawarra Dragons or Parramatta Eels. It is traditionally played at Stadium Australia. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs won the first three clashes, but St. George Illawarra won the following two. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs however won the two following encounters.
The game was the first of two on the holiday when it started, but due to the scrapping of Monday night football it is now the centrepiece event on the King's Birthday Holiday. The match traditionally kicks off at 4pm. The game is the centrepiece of the long weekend's big lineup each year.
In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the match was moved to Bankwest Stadium and played behind closed doors.[1]
Head to head
Canterbury-Bankstown v St George Illawarra (2015–2021)
| Team | Played | Games Won | Draws | Games Lost | Points For | Points Against | Point Difference | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 157 | 96 | +61 | 
|  St. George Illawarra Dragons | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 96 | 157 | -61 | 
Canterbury-Bankstown v Parramatta (since 2022)
| Team | Played | Games Won | Draws | Games Lost | Points For | Points Against | Point Difference | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 68 | 56 | +12 | 
|  Parramatta Eels | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 68 | –12 | 
Results
2015
| 8 June 2015 Round 13 |  Canterbury | 29 – 16 |  St George Illawarra | Sydney | 
| 4:00 PM | Tries: Curtis Rona '7, Josh Morris '20, Tim Lafai '62, Tim Browne '66, Sam Kasiano '76 Goals:Trent Hodkinson '22, '77, Moses Mbye '63, '68. | Report | Tries: Gareth Widdop '32, '46, Peter Mata'utia '57. Goals:Gareth Widdop '34, '47 | Stadium: ANZ Stadium Attendance: 27,291 | 
2016
| 13 June 2016 Round 14 |  Canterbury | 34 – 16 |  St George Illawarra | Sydney | 
| 4:00 PM | Tries: Sam Perrett '15, Michael Lichaa '29, Moses Mbye '31, Curtis Rona '57, Will Hopoate '60, Josh Reynolds '70. Goals:Kerrod Holland '29, 32', '60, '70 | Report | Tries: Kurt Mann '10, '48, Tyson Frizell '37. Goals:Gareth Widdop '11, '38 | Stadium: ANZ Stadium Attendance: 20,153 | 
2017
| 12 June 2017 Round 14 |  Canterbury | 16 – 2 |  St George Illawarra | Sydney | 
| 4:00 PM | Tries: Josh Morris '54, Michael Lichaa '69, Marcelo Montoya '74 Goals:Moses Mbye '55, '71 | Report | Tries: Goals:Gareth Widdop '21 | Stadium: ANZ Stadium Attendance: 24,083 | 
2018
| 11 June 2018 Round 14 |  Canterbury | 16 – 18 |  St George Illawarra | Sydney | 
| 4:00 PM | Tries: Adam Elliott '17, Will Hopoate '44, Brett Morris 47' Goals:Moses Mbye '18, '48 | Report | Tries: Euan Aitken '2, Tariq Sims '8, Nene Macdonald '34 Goals:Gareth Widdop '34, '56, '66 | Stadium: ANZ Stadium Attendance: 21,376 | 
2019
| 10 June 2019 Round 13 |  Canterbury | 12 – 36 |  St George Illawarra | Sydney | 
| 4:05 PM | Tries: Raymond Faitala-Mariner '2, Kieran Foran '69 Goals:Nick Meaney '3, '70 | Report | Tries: Mikaele Ravalawa '9, '72, Corey Norman '13, Jonus Pearson '26, Ben Hunt '53, Zac Lomax '60 Goals:Zac Lomax '10, '15, '28, '55, '61, '74 | Stadium: ANZ Stadium Attendance: 16,003 | 
2020
| 8 June 2020 Round 4 |  Canterbury | 22 – 2 |  St George Illawarra | Sydney | 
| 4:05 PM | Tries: Adam Elliott 19', Nick Meaney 50', Reimis Smith 70' Goals:Nick Meaney 20', 26', 32', 51', 71' | Report | Tries: Goals:Zac Lomax 3' | Stadium: Bankwest Stadium Attendance: 0 | 
2021
| 14 June 2021 Round 14 |  Canterbury | 28 – 6 |  St. George Illawarra | Sydney | 
| 4:00 PM | Tries: Jake Averillo 28', 41', Jeremy Marshall-King 51'. Adam Elliott 68' Goals: Jake Averillo 9', 29', 43', 53', 62', 77' | Report | Tries: Brayden Wiliame 20' Goals: Corey Norman 22' | Stadium: Stadium Australia Attendance: 17,382 | 
2022
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs   | 34–4 |  Parramatta Eels | 
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Addo-Carr  6', 47', 52' Averillo  14', 72' Kiraz  26' Goals: Burton  16', 28', 48', 54', 73' | Report | Tries: Penisini  67' | 
2023
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs   | 12–34 |  Parramatta Eels | 
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Burton  15' Perham  58' Goals: Burton 2/2  16', 59' | Report | Tries: Gutherson  4', 22', 24' Simonsson  30' Penisini  50' Sivo  64' Goals: Moses 5/6  6', 23', 25', 31', 65' | 
2024
| Round 14: 10 June 2024 16:00 AEST | 
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs   | 22–18 |  Parramatta Eels | 
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Crichton  12', 67' Wilson  17', 74' Goals: Burton 3/4  19', 67', 75' | Report | Tries: Talagi  6' Penisini  33' Tuilagi  44' Goals: Moses 3/3  7', 34', 46' | 
See also
References
- ^ "Rivalries and intrigue headline round three draw for NRL restart". National Rugby League. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.