the first time since 1984 that the two clubs had played each other in the finals. The Intrust Super Premiership NSW St. George Illawarra also had a strong year finishing second at the end of the regular season were they made the preliminary final but were defeated 28–26 by Canterbury. In August 2018 WIN Corporation purchased the Illawarra Steelers remaining 25% stake in the club for a "commercially in confidence" sum. The St George Dragons and WIN Corporation now have a 50% stake each. WIN Corporation has paid off the $6 million debt the St. George Illawarra Dragons owed the NRL. The club's home venues will continue to be WIN Stadium and Jubilee Stadium. Before the start of the 2019 NRL season, St. George Illawarra were expected by many to reach the finals and continue their good form from the previous year. A few weeks out from the club's first match, Jack de Belin was stood down indefinitely by the NRL in relation to an incident which happened in December 2018. On 18 April 2019, McGregor was granted a two-year contract extension by St. George Illawarra, keeping him at the club as the head coach until the end of the 2021 NRL season after the side had won four of their first six games. St. George Illawarra would then go to only win three of their next 17 matches which left them second last on the table above the last placed Gold Coast. On 2 September 2019, it was revealed that McGregor's position at head coach would be coming under review following the conclusion of the season. St. George Illawarra finished 15th on the ladder and did not qualify for the finals after having a horror season. On 13 August 2020, McGregor was terminated as head coach of St. George Illawarra after a poor start to the season left the club with four wins in thirteen games, he was subsequently replaced by Dean Young. At the end of the 2020 NRL season, the club finished a disappointing 12th on the table and missed out on the finals. Anthony Griffin (2021–) On 7 September 2020, Anthony Griffin was appointed the coach for 2021 NRL season on a two-year deal. On 1 June 2021, it was announced that Jack de Belin would return from his 987-day hiatus after charges against him were dropped. On 5 July 2021, the NRL handed out a