Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club

Last updated

Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club, more commonly known as Easts Leagues, or simply Easts is a licensed club that was established in 1961 with the purpose of raising revenue to support and promote the Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club and rugby league within the eastern districts of Sydney, Australia. The club describes itself as "the home of the Sydney Roosters".

Club (organization) association of people united by a common interest or goal

A club is an association of people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities. There are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious clubs, and so forth.

Sydney Roosters Professional Australian Rugby League team

The Sydney Roosters is an Australian professional rugby league football club. They are based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs. The Roosters have won fifteen New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and National Rugby League titles, and several other competitions. As a franchise, the Eastern Suburbs/Sydney City/Sydney Roosters have won 15 premierships, tying them with the St George Dragons. Only South Sydney Rabbitohs have won more premierships. The club holds the record for having the most wins and the second greatest margin of victory in a match in Australian rugby league history, and has won more minor premierships than any other club. The Roosters is one of only two clubs to finish runners-up in its inaugural season. The Eastern Suburbs DRLFC is the only club to have played in each and every season at the elite level, and since the 1970s has often been dubbed the "glamour club" of the league. Coached by Trent Robinson along with captains Boyd Cordner and Jake Friend, the Roosters play their home games at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Rugby league Full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field

Rugby league is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 m wide and 112–122 m long. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in Northern England in 1895 as a split from the Rugby Football Union over the issue of payments to players. Its rules progressively changed with the aim of producing a faster, more entertaining game for spectators.

Contents

Since its establishment it has progressed on to become one of the larger leagues clubs in comparison to others supporting teams in the National Rugby League competition. The primary clubhouse of the Easts Group, is located at Bondi Junction in Sydney's east, operating on the same site continuously since 1967. The Easts Group also owns licensed premises at Waverley and Kingswood in Sydney, Berkeley in the Illawarra, and Woy Woy on the Central Coast of NSW. Furthermore, the club is planning to build a new licensed club, hotel and sports complex in Sydney's south-west.

National Rugby League Australasian rugby league football competition

The National Rugby League (NRL) is a league of professional men's rugby league teams in Australia. Run by the Australian Rugby League Commission, the NRL's main competition is known as the Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra and is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand. It is the most viewed and attended rugby league club competition in the world.

Waverley, New South Wales Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Waverley is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Waverley is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council.

Kingswood is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is 49 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith. There are various other locations within the state of New South Wales that are also called Kingswood, and is often confused with the nearby suburb of Kingswood Park.

Establishment and history

By the late 1950s, most Sydney Rugby League (now National Rugby League) clubs had established licensed premises to provide revenues to support the operations of their parent Rugby League team. The one remaining exception to this was the foundation Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, now known as the Sydney Roosters. In around 1960, Millers Breweries, then one of the largest brewers in Australia, approached the Easts club with a plan to underwrite the operations of a licensed premises in Sydney's east. The football club acquiesced to this suggestion and in 1961, Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club Limited was established, first operating out of a building on the Bondi Beach promenade.

Bondi Beach Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Bondi Beach is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Beach is located 7 km (4 mi) east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council, in the Eastern Suburbs. Bondi, North Bondi, and Bondi Junction are neighbouring suburbs. Bondi Beach is one of the most visited tourist sites in Australia.

Due to the success of the new Easts Leagues Club, the organisation quickly outgrew its beachside location, and with Millers, looked to acquire a site in the booming commercial district of Bondi Junction in the adjacent suburb. The Junction, as it is known, was conveniently located on the then Sydney tramlines (and later the Eastern Suburbs Railway) and was halfway between the team's beachside and inner-eastern suburbs heartlands. Millers Breweries believed the Bondi Junction location would be perfect for a Rugby League and hospitality venue, and the football club believed the location would be convenient for post-match functions after home games at the old Sydney Sports Ground.

Sydney Sports Ground

The Sydney Sports Ground No. 1 was a Stadium and Dirt track racing venue in Sydney, New South Wales. The ground was located where the car park of the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) currently sits. The ground had two main grandstands and was surrounded by a grass covered hill, giving it a capacity of more than 35,000. It was demolished along with the smaller No.2 Ground in 1986 to allow the building of the SFS, which opened in 1988. During its lifespan the Sports Ground hosted Rugby league, Rugby Union, Soccer, Motorcycle speedway and Speedway car racing.

Easts and Millers originally purchased a building located between Spring Street and Oxford Street in Bondi Junction. Notwithstanding this purchase, the club had grander plans for a larger clubhouse. As such, while operating from its successful new premises, Easts purchased the site of the old Bondi Junction ice-skating rink on the opposite side of Spring Street, as well as adjoining premises on Bronte Road in the Junction. The plan, which came to fruition in 1967, was for Easts to move to the larger side fronting two of the Junction's main streets. Easts have operated from the new site since then, as a hospitality and clubhouse venue, and subsequently built a large commercial tower above the Leagues Club premises.

Since the late 1990s, the expanded 'Easts Group' has acquired additional clubhouses by amalgamating with former lawn bowls and other Rugby League clubs, with Easts retaining control of the merged entities.

Facilities

The Easts Group of clubs provide a range of high-quality, modern facilities including hospitality, such as bars, bistros and restaurants, gymnasiums, lawn bowls fields, gaming and racing areas, corporate and personal function rooms, a swimming pool at the Bondi Junction club, and areas reserved for Sydney Roosters football team post-match supporter functions. Team merchandise is also available at some of the clubs.

Not only does the Easts Group continue to support the Sydney Roosters and provide a house facility for members and their guests, Easts has expanded into other areas of interest including:

See also

Related Research Articles

Bondi Junction, New South Wales Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Bondi Junction is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 6 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the Waverley.

Bronte, New South Wales Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Bronte is a beachside suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bronte beach is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Waverley Council local government area of the Eastern Suburbs.

Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) Region in New South Wales, Australia

The Eastern Suburbs is the metropolitan region directly to the east and south-east of the central business district in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Coogee, New South Wales Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Coogee is a beachside suburb of local government area City of Randwick 8 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is also a part of the Eastern Suburbs region.

North Bondi, New South Wales Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

North Bondi is a coastal, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council.

Tamarama, New South Wales Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Tamarama is a beachside suburb, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Tamarama is 6 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council. Tamarama is affectionately nicknamed Glamarama by the locals, as it is a beach where wannabe trend setters come to sunbathe and swim or simply try to be seen.

Bondi is an area of East Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, seven kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council.

Ron Massey Cup Australian semi-professional rugby league competition

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 history of the Sydney Roosters stretches back from the birth of rugby league football in Australia in 1908 to the present day. It is the only remaining club to have played every season of top-tier football in Australia's history.

Charing Cross, New South Wales New South Wales, Australia

Charing Cross is a precinct in the suburb of Waverley, part of eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The name "Charing Cross" is used to describe the intersection of Bronte Road and Carrington Road and the short shopping strip extending to the east along Bronte Road, and is used as a reference point for the homes and schools located around it.

Ferris Arthur Ashton was an Australian rugby league footballer who represented his country in 8 test matches. Ferris was also a member of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during the Second World War.

Kevin Junee is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative back, he played his club football in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership for Sydney teams Eastern Suburbs and Manly-Warringah.

The Sydney Roosters Juniors are officially known as the Eastern Suburbs District Junior Rugby League. It is an affiliation of junior clubs in the Eastern Suburbs area, covering the Woollahra and Waverley local government areas (LGAs), the northern parts of the Randwick LGA and also the eastern areas of the City of Sydney LGA.

Matthew Peter Burke is an Australian former rugby union and rugby league footballer. He later served as a Waverley Council lifeguard on Bondi Beach.

The South Sydney District Junior Rugby Football League is an affiliation of junior clubs in the South Sydney area.

Minto Cobras Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Minto, New South Wales. In 2009 their clubhouse was burnt down and were forced to relocate. They are one of the strongest junior clubs in the Campbelltown area and have produced quality first graders and internationals.

Charles "Peter" Moscatt was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. He played for Eastern Suburbs in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition.

References

    Coordinates: 33°53′34″S151°14′56″E / 33.8927°S 151.2490°E / -33.8927; 151.2490

    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.