1993 preliminary final which St. George won 27-12. They would meet again in the 1995 and 1998 finals series with Canterbury running out winners on both occasions. The elimination final in 1998 was also St. George's final game as a stand-alone entity as the club elected to form a joint venture with Illawarra for the 1999 NRL season. Since St. George formed a joint venture with Illawarra, the two clubs have met each other in the 2001 finals series which St. George Illawarra defeated Canterbury 23-22 and in the 2015 finals series which Canterbury won 11-10 at ANZ Stadium. In the 2017 NRL season, St. George Illawarra needed to beat Canterbury in the final game of the regular season to qualify for the finals. Canterbury who were already out of contention for the finals defeated St. George 26-20 which allowed North Queensland to get the last finals spot and finish 8th. North Queensland would then go on to reach the 2017 NRL Grand Final as a result. The two sides are rivals in the NRL Heritage Round. Canterbury and St. George Illawarra also unofficially have a territorial rivalry, with fans from both teams coming in large amounts around Arncliffe, Earlwood, Kingsgrove, Marrickville, and Panania. Parramatta Eels The St. George Illawarra Dragons and Parramatta Eels rivalry stretched back to 1977 when the St. George Dragons and Parramatta played out the first ever drawn Grand Final result. Parramatta, seeking their first minor premiership after they finished the season on the top of the ladder at the end of the regular season, were beaten 22-0 in the Grand Final Rematch by St. George, who won their first Grand Final since 1966. There were many controversial matches between St. George Illawarra and Parramatta. Firstly, in Round 18 2005, Parramatta won 40-14 in a match which saw Trent Barrett and PJ Marsh trade blows after Marsh’s crude charge-down attempt at Barrett, sparking an all-in brawl whitest, Parramatta's Wade McKinnon sprinted to score a match-turning 80 metre try. A less memorable match saw no points scored between the two teams in Round 13 2006 in the first 70 minutes of play before Parramatta slotted a field goal with nine minutes remaining, before the Dragons struck back with two one-pointers to take a 2-1 lead. St. George Illawarra then scored a try through Matt Cooper with mere seconds remaining on the clock to claim an 8-1 victory.