The St George Illawarra Dragons have confirmed their first five life members, with three coming from the 2010 premiership-winning team, and two off-field personnel also being recognised.
The on-field trio are 2010 captain Ben Hornby, the man who took over the captaincy from Hornby Ben Creagh and star winger Jason Nightingale.
All three were not only part of the joint-venture's only premiership since the merger, but also are the club's top three appearance makers in history. Hornby leads the field with 273, while Nightingale had 266 and Creagh 247.
The trio also all had higher honours, with Nightingale playing 33 Tests for New Zealand, Hornby playing three games for New South Wales and one for Australia, and Creagh playing eleven Origins for the Blues and two Tests for the Kangaroos.
Off the field, Bruce Gordon and Doug McClelland have also been acknowledged as life members.
Gordon, through his investments as owner of the WIN Corporation, have seen the club through a number of difficult situations, while McLelland played a key role during the merger between the St George Dragons and Illawarra Steelers just before the turn of the century.
Nightingale, who has remained involved with the club in numerous capacities since his retirement in 2018 and has been part of the club's Legends Walk at Kogarah since 2021, said the club means 'everything'.
"This club means everything to me," Nightingale said.
"I started as a kid, a St George junior, it's always a big part of who I am.
"It's a huge cloud with a proud history. It's given me everything, it hasn't just been the club, it's everyone in the community, all the fans."
Creagh meanwhile labelled the award a 'privilege'.
"This club has played a huge part of my life since I was 16 years old," Creagh said.
"I never lost the feeling every time I got to play for this club, how privileged I was to play for St George Illawarra.
"It's a privilege to receive an award like this but it's a team sport and to all the guys I played alongside from 2003 to 2016, thank you.
"I'll wear the badge proudly and look forward to being involved in the St George Illawarra Dragons for a long time to come so thank you."
Hornby meanwhile, who is also on the Legends Walk and currently is the interim coach at the South Sydney Rabbitohs, said the achievement was something he is very proud of.
โI'd like to thank the club for this recognition of Life Membership,โ Hornby said.
โTo be recognised for the part I played over the previous 25 years is obviously a huge achievement for me and something I'm very proud of. We've got a great club and, like I said, it's just great to be a part of it for all the years I was.โ
