East Campbelltown Eagles are an Australian Junior Rugby League Club that also supports a semi-professional rugby league team. The team previously competed in the Western Suburbs 1st Grade competition, Canterbury 1st Grade competition, Jim Beam Cup, Bundaberg Red Cup, the Wests Juniors/Group 6 combined competition, Group 6 CRL Competition and now the Semi Professional New South Wales Sydney Shield Competition.
The East Campbelltown Eagles RLFC was established in 1961 as a junior Rugby League club from the Campbelltown East Primary School. Starting with the colors Red and White which came from the local bus company situated on Broughton Street. The Club had a full Red jersey with white saddles on their shoulders, a big letter E on the heart side of the jersey, white shorts and striped socks. East Campbelltown was originally part of the Group 6 Country Rugby League. The Club's first home ground was Orana Park Leumeah from 1961 until 1968, Orana Park is now the Campbelltown Stadium. Land on 32 Waminda Avenue was donated to the local Rugby League Club which was a small cattle farm. The majority of the houses around the East Campbelltown Area originally were chicken farms that was given to serviceman returning from World War 1 back in 1918.
The East Campbelltown Rugby League Club then moved to the new ground on Waminda Avenue, the name Waminda is an Aboriginal word for Comrade, which obviously came from the returned service men living in the area. East Campbelltown was also originally called the Settlement. Protest from the locals in the 60’s seen a name change to East Campbelltown as they thought the Settlement name was more of a name for a penal colony.
The E displayed on the East Campbelltown had opposition clubs calling the E for easy beats. The East Campbelltown President Mr E.W Lardner wanted to put a stop to the Easy Beats Tag and designed an Eagle. He then had the Eagles sown on all the jerseys with the name change to East Campbelltown Eagles in 1969. This also coincided with the move to Waminda Oval from Oranan Park in 1969.
The 1970s, East Campbelltown Eagles were a junior club that fielded teams from Under 6's to Under 16's. All players once past the age of 16 would then go and play for the senior club Campbelltown City Kangaroos. Campbelltown City had some successful years in the early 80’s that contributed from many East Campbelltown Eagles Junior players.
By the late 1970s, the East Campbelltown Eagles club came to life being the largest Junior Rugby League Club in the District and winning the Coca-Cola Knockout in 1977 and 1979, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing for East Campbelltown Eagles in the 70’s. A break away club named Leumeah Wolves formed on Waminda Oval field number 2. They wore the Blue and White Bulldogs strip, this gave the East Campbelltown Eagles club unwanted competition for local players.
Waminda Oval had gone through a few changes, the top field was fenced and a cricket pitch added, it wasn’t in favour for the Rugby League Club. The original farm house was demolished and made way for the current East Campbelltown Community Hall and the last house on Brisbane Avenue that backed onto Waminda Oval had the club wanting to buy it for a mere $7,000 but opposition from a Local Club wouldn’t allow the sale to go ahead.
By the end of 1979 East Campbelltown Eagles with a team full of 17 year olds asked permission to Group 6 CRL for a special exemption to field an Under 18's team. To Campbelltown City's disproval it was granted for a team coached by Don Young that became East Campbelltown’s first ever Under 18’s team in 1980. The team against all odds defeated arch rivals Campbelltown Collegians in the Grand Final at Bradbury Oval in 1980.
In 1980 East Campbelltown Eagles fielded 18 teams and won an amazing 8 Premierships, they had also won the Group 6 Junior Club Champions.
The end of 1983 seen the end of Group 6 in Campbelltown as Campbelltown was now seen as a small city and no longer part of the Country Rugby League. The competition was separated from what they called the water line, which was the convict built water canal that ran from the cataract dam through Narellan Road to the back of St Andrews Road, sides North-Wests of the water line were required to form the Newtown-Campbelltown Jets Rugby League, financial issues from Newtown Jets seen another Name change to Campbelltown Hornets in 1985 before the Western Suburbs Magpies District Rugby League was formed in 1986. The late 1980s to the early 1990s the club struggled sharing Waminda Oval with Leumeah Wolves which was a blue and white club that broke away from the East Campbelltown Club in 1978. When Leumeah Wolves folded in 1993 and East Campbelltown Eagles formed their senior base with now an Under 18's reserve Grade and 1st Grade they became the heavy weight club they were known for in the 70's, in many Semi final and Final 1st Grade appearances they couldn't crack that illusive Premiership until the 2001 season which was an important year for the Eagles, winning the Minor Premiership, Premiership, Senior Club Champions and Overall Club Champions, and to kick start the club's two decades of dominance at a Senior Level. The demise of the 1st Grade competition locally seen the East Campbelltown Eagles take on the best from the Canterbury District in 2007, The Eagles winning their second 1st Grade Premiership defeating Canterbury's prestigious club St Christopher's 19-12 under the coach Daniel Draper and Richard Barnes.[citation needed]
In 2008, the Eagles gained acceptance into the NSWRLJim Beam Cup. Where they were the first Campbelltown side to compete in such a high level competition. The Eagles re-joined the combined Group 6-Westerns Suburbs District A-grade competition at the start of the 2009 season, where they started to dominate the competition winning the Grand Final in the Under 18's featuring NRL star Tim Lafai. That year they also made the Grand Final in Reserve Grade and 3rd Grade Competition.[citation needed]
By the 2011 season the club had grown in strength and became competition favorites going through the regular season with only the one loss but went down in the Grand Final, that year they still had success with the Reserve Grade winning undefeated Captain Coached by club stalwart Daniel Draper, a huge local rivalry had again formed with Campbelltown City and a record the East Campbelltown Eagles boast is that the Campbelltown City Club has never defeated East Campbelltown Eagles in any 1st Grade match.[citation needed]
In 2012, The East Campbelltown Eagles went through the competition undefeated winning the Group 6 Grand Final with ease 44-6 and were named winners of the CRL Clayton's Cup and were the first Campbelltown Side to win the prestigious award. They had further success again winning the Reserve Grade competition and by 2013 the club had become a formidable powerhouse that wasn't excepted well with the Group 6 Management as the Club was voted out of the competition.
Sam Hoare in action for the Campbelltown Eagles
In 2014, the Eagles had gone from rags to riches as they won the NSWRL Sydney Shield competition, going in as huge underdogs against the Mount Pritchard Mounties, the Eagles went on to win the match and the premiership.
In 2016, East Campbelltown won the Sydney Shield for a second time defeating Mounties in one of the all time upsets as Mounties went into the Grand Final winning 21 games straight. In 2018, East Campbelltown won the Sydney Shield for a third time defeating the Guildford Owls 32-22 at Leichhardt Oval.[1]
Team emblem and homeground
East Campbelltown's logo is that of a red and white eagle inside a ring with the words "Campbelltown Eagles R.L.F.C" written on it. This logo is similar to that of NSWRL side, Manly Sea Eagles, with the colours changed to suit the club. The colours of the Eagles' jerseys are also red and white like their emblem.
The Eagles homeground in Waminda Oval, Campbelltown.
Notable Juniors
Notable First Grade Players that have played at East Campbelltown Eagles & Campbelltown Eagles include:
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia. The club, as a sole entity, departed the top-flight competition in 1999 after forming a 50–50 joint venture with Balmain Tigers to form the Wests Tigers. The club currently fields sides in the NSW State Cup, Ron Massey Cup (Opens), S.G. Ball Cup and Harold Matthews Cup competitions.
The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSW Cup competition, having left the top grade after the 1983 NSWRFL season. The Jets' home ground is Henson Park, and their team colours are blue and white.
The Sydney University Rugby League Football Club is a rugby league team currently playing in the Saturday Metro League competition. The University of Sydney was represented in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership from 1920 to 1937 as University, and also in the NSWRL Second Division and Metropolitan League competitions from 1963 to 1976.
Campbelltown Sports Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Leumeah, New South Wales, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. Formerly known as Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, it is currently the home ground of the Western Suburbs Magpies, Wests Tigers and Macarthur FC. The stadium has a nominal capacity of 17500, with a recorded highest crowd figure of 20,527 for a game between Wests Tigers and North Queensland Cowboys in the 2005 NRL season. It is located adjacent to Leumeah railway station and Wests Leagues Club.
The Ron Massey Cup is a semi-professional development level rugby league competition in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, run jointly by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and the Country Rugby League of New South Wales (CRL). The competition is run concurrently with the National Rugby League (NRL). It currently comprises 13 teams drawn from the Sydney metropolitan area. The competition is named after Ron Massey, a former rugby league coach. Ron Massey died 19 September 2016.
The Newcastle Rugby League is a local rugby league football competition in Newcastle, Australia. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1910. A Newcastle representative team was also assembled from players in the League during most of the 20th century. The first grade competition also comprises the NSWRL Presidents Cup Northern Conference.
The Windsor Wolves are a rugby league team based in the town of Windsor, New South Wales. The club fields both junior and senior teams in the Penrith District Rugby League competitions. The club has fielded teams in semi-professional, New South Wales Rugby League competitions. In March 2020 the club re-entered the third-tier Ron Massey Cup and fourth-tier Sydney Shield competitions. These competitions were cancelled after one round of matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. When the Sydney Shield was reorganised for a restart in July 2020, Windsor did not participate.
The Belrose Eagles are a rugby league team based in the suburb of Belrose in Sydney's Northern Beaches. Founded in 1955, the club has fielded both junior and senior teams in the Manly-Warringah district competitions and since 2013 the semi-professional Sydney Shield competition in NSW, Australia. Their colours are red and gold. After returning to the A Grade competition in 2009, the Belrose Eagles were 2009 Premiers.
The Wentworthville Magpies, colloquially known as Wenty, are a rugby league team based in the suburb of Wentworthville in Sydney's Western Suburbs. Founded in 1963, the club has competed in various Sydney district competitions and, since 2003, the semi-professional Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield competitions in NSW, Australia. The club also fielded a team in the Canterbury Cup NSW as part of a joint-venture with the Parramatta Eels between 2008 and 2019 acting as Parramatta's feeder club.
Cabramatta Two Blues, colloquially known as Cabra, is an Australian rugby league football club that was originally formed in 1919 and then later completely formed as the Two Blues in 1939. They have always based from the Parramatta Junior Leagues, and their junior teams compete in the Parramatta District Junior Rugby League Association. They currently compete in the Sydney Shield and have previously competed in the Ron Massey Cup however both sides did not field a side for the 2022 season in either competition. They play out of the Cabramatta, New South Wales, Sports Ground Complex which can fit up to 5,000 spectators. The Two Blues have won numerous A-Grade Titles with their last Premiership received in 2002.
The St Marys Saints are an Australian rugby league club who were formed in 1908. They were the founding Member of the Penrith District Rugby League. They have previously competed in the NSWRL Jim Beam Cup, winning three titles in the 1990s and in the NSWRL Premier League/State League as a former joint-venture club with their local rivals, the Penrith Panthers from 2002 until 2007. For a brief time, the Saints were known as the Cougars in the NSWRL Jim Beam Cup. The Club has since returned to its original name.
The Hills District Bulls is a Parramatta District junior rugby league football club which play in Baulkham Hills at Crestwood Oval.
The Blacktown Workers Rugby League Football Club, also known as Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles, are an Australian rugby league football club based in Blacktown, New South Wales formed in 1962. Since 2017 they have had a side in the NSW Cup, as the feeder team to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.
The Sydney Shield is a rugby league football competition played in Sydney, New South Wales. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League.
The Mounties Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Mount Pritchard, New South Wales formed in 1927. They currently play in the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield.
The Guildford Owls are a rugby league club based in Guildford, New South Wales, Australia. They have previously competed in the Ron Massey Cup, the Sydney Shield and have also competed in the Sydney Metropolitan Women's Rugby League.
The Glebe-Burwood Wolves are a rugby league club based in Concord, New South Wales. They compete in the Ron Massey Cup and also field junior sides from Under 6 to Under 17 age groups in the Balmain District Junior Rugby League. In the Ron Massey Cup, they were initially known as the Concord-Burwood-Glebe Wolves, following a merger with foundation club Glebe. Their colours are charcoal and pink and since the incorporation of foundation club Glebe into the merger in 2017, the club occasionally wears the famous dirty red and white jersey worn by Glebe from 1908 to 1929. This is the first time in 87 years that the Glebe colours have been worn in a NSWRL competition.
The Asquith Magpies Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Asquith, New South Wales formed in 1953. They previously competed in the NSW Ron Massey Cup competition and the Sydney Shield. Asquith are currently a senior feeder club side to NSW Cup team the North Sydney Bears.
The NSWRL Women's Premiership is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. It is the only statewide open-age competition for women in New South Wales and is run by New South Wales Rugby League.
The NSWRL Presidents Cup is a semi-professional, open-aged rugby league football competition played in New South Wales. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). The competition includes teams from domestic rugby league clubs, Ron Massey Cup, Sydney Shield and Canterbury Cup clubs.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
