Western Eagles FC
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| Full name | Western Eagles Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Polonia, Eagles | |||
| Founded | 13 August 1950 as Polonia S.C. | |||
| Ground |
Polish Club, 19 Carrington Drive Albion, Victoria | |||
| Capacity | 2,000 | |||
| Chairman | Adam Jaskulowski | |||
| League | Victorian State League Division 4 West | |||
| 2016 | 10th | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
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Western Eagles FC is an Australian soccer club based in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria.
The club's foundation meeting was held on 13 August 1950, at 93 Brighton Road, St.Kilda. The meeting decided that the Club would be known as "Polonia Soccer Club".
KS Polonia was one of the powerhouses of Victorian and Australian soccer in the 1950s and 1960s, before making a brief revival in the 1980s. The club has since fallen to the lower reaches of the Victorian system, and currently participates in the Victorian State League Division 4 West.
Club foundation
With the conclusion of the Second World War, many Poles were unable to, or did not want to return to their homeland for various reasons and as such made the decision to emigrate to Australia and begin a new life for themselves and their families. They were ex-servicemen and women, displaced persons, etc.
As Poles have done for countless generations, they began to form various organizations to uphold their old traditions and their identities, to elevate their homesickness, finding solace with their own kind in a strange and at times inhospitable new land. Sport has always been a major enjoyment to Poles and as such a Polish Soccer Club was inevitable.
The foundation meeting was held on 13 August 1950 at 93 Brighton Road St Kilda. The Meeting was an initiative of Jacek Wyszogrodzki, Honorable Secretary of Polish Association in Victoria. The first committee was elected on 27 August 1950 and consisted of Wladyslaw Kowalik – President, Wiktor Kwiatkowski – Hon. Secretary, Franek Skowronski – Treasurer, Kazimierz Zielinski – Team Manager, Boleslaw Mlewski – Coach, Mieczyslaw Terlikowski – Team Manager. The meeting decided that the Club would be named Polonia Soccer Club.
The early years
“Polonia” being Latin for Poland and the colours of white and red adopted. Polonia played its first game in late 1950, against JUST(holders of the World Cup) and defeated them 4:3. The club's first official game took place at Williamstown Racecourse, defeating Geelong United 3:1, on April 7, 1951. It was the beginning of a meteoric climb and the beginning of the golden fifties and sixties for the Club. Polonia became 4th Division Champions in their first season of existence 1951, 3rd Division Champions 1952 winning the league without dropping a single point ! In 1953 Polonia finished Division 2 Runners-up winning promotion to Division 1, and becoming World Cup Champions . Destroying all opposition. Players, who starred in these early days and will be remembered by many were Stefan Czauderna and Robert Zablocki, pivot for the Victorian team that played the touring England team in 1952. Stasek Galecki was the best left wing in the State at the time and Augus Dziura, a fine goal scoring center forward. By 1954 Polonia had climbed into the First Division, losing just one league game in 3 years. It had taken only four years to get from the bottom to the top of the Victorian soccer pyramid structure.
The club reached the Dockerty Cup final for the first time in their history in 1955. The final played on October 22, at Ascot Vale ended with a 1:1 draw to Hakoah, with the opening goal from Polonia's Peter Schipperheyn in the 51 minute. The side lost the Cup final replay 2:0 on November 5.
During its early years the club was fortunate to secure services of Zdzislaw Zabuski, an engineer and businessmen, who provided employment for many of the Polonia players. His knowledge of local conditions proved extremely useful. Mr Zabuski was elected club President in 1951.
Julian Chrzanowski was one of the clubs first committee members and players. Mr Chrzanowski was a member of the Polish Resistance in World War II, before he was captured and send to Auschwitz concentration camp. He barely survived and was offered the chance to migrate to Australia or the United States. He arrived to Australia in 1949. He became the foundation member of Polonia. He played in the clubs first game, and was a member of the championship teams of 1951 and 1952.
W.R.Thomas, President of Victorian Soccer Football Association was Polonia's most influential and noteworthy supporters. He recalls in 1951, prior of taking the Victoria State team on tour of New Zealand, arranging with Polonia club President Zdzislaw Zabuski, to play a trail game against the newly formed Polonia Soccer Club. He was shocked when the lowly and newly formed fourth Division team soundly beat his Touring team. He then became one of the clubs great followers, even with his son, Brian, was a playing member of Polonia first team, representing the club in the 1954 season, debuting in Division One.
In 1956, the year of the Melbourne Olympic Games, Polonia officials took the opportunity to approach visiting membersof the Polish Olympic Committee who agreed to allow some of Poland's best players to come to Melbourne. Polonia was fortunate to have amongst its ranks, the dynamic figure of Ted Lezon, a person gifted with explosive energy and controversial temperament which gave the Club plenty of drive and lift and who to this day is still an influence to the present. In 1956, Ted Lezon was entertaining officials of the Polish Olympic Teams and jokingly said "What about Polonia getting some top class players from Poland", that remark set the ball rolling, Dr Charles Walker, who was Club president at the time, had influential connections in Poland and the joke became reality.
Dr. Charles Walker was a Polish doctor born in Lviv, Poland. Dr Walker arrived in Australia just before the Second World War, and as a doctor was part of the Australian Army Force that combat against the Japanese in Papua New Guinea. Dr Walker began his work with the club in 1950 as a medical volunteer. By 1952 he was elected club President, role he fulfilled in the following years ; 1953, 1955–1956, 1958–1963.
On the 13 June 1959, the first five of a long line of Polish stars arrived in Melbourne. They were Roch Dronia, Ryszard Szczepanski, Kaz Szygalski, Marian Gasior and Wieslaw Janczyk.
The highlight era in the club's history, were the early 1960s. In the season of 1960 and 1961 Polonia won back to back State League Championship, and becoming 1961 Dockerty Cup Winners beating George Cross 4:2 in the Final on October 7, at Olimpic Park with goals from Zygmund Gross, Zdzislaw Maruszkiewicz and a brace from Mieczyslaw Jurecki. This most successful side in the club's history also won the prestige "World Cup" tournament. Some of the most influential players of that time were ; Mieczyslaw Jurecki, Wieslaw Janczyk, Wladyslaw Gamaj, Zdzislaw Maruszkiewicz, Jerzy Dudon, Charlie Morks, Marian Gasior, Remo Guardiani, Ryszard Szczepanski, Roch Dronia, Kazimierz Szyglarski, Zygmunt Gross, Henryk Gronowski, Ference Voros. President of Polonia SC at that time was Dr.Charles Walker. Our club also had representatives at international level. Players that had the honor to represent the Australian national team were George Pittoni, Robert Wemyss, Mieczyslaw Jurecki and Kazimierz Kowalec. There was a number of players that were Poland's national team representatives ; Wieslaw Janczyk, Kazimierz Kowalec, Edward Jankowski, Edmond Zientara, Henryk Gronowski, Zygmunt Gadecki, Robert Gajda, Robert Gronowski, Mieczyslaw Jurecki.
In 1963 Polonia finished Runners-up in three competitions. In the Victorian State League, two points behind JUST, taking just 3 points in their final four games. The State League Leading Goalscorer that season was Edward Jankowski with 21 goals. Same year Polonia lost in the Final of the Dockerty Cup to ... JUST, losing 2:4 at Olimpic Park. The team also lost in the Final of Australia Cup, which was the first national club tournament in the country initiated in 1962. The 1963 final was contested by two Melbourne clubs, with Slavia Melbourne beating Polonia 3:2 in a replay, after a scoreless draw in the first game. In the final replay, Des Palmer scored a hat-trick for the winners. On its way to the final Polonia faced Adelaide Juventus, George Cross, Brisbane Azzuri, and Sydney Prague in the semi-final, winning 3:1. Polonia did manage to win the 1963 Ampol Cup, pre-season competition, beating South Melbourne Hellas in the Final.
In 1981, 20 years after winning their last league title, Polonia finally topped the Victorian Metropolitan League Division 1, clinching a place back into the State League after a 4 years absence. The outstanding players of that team were Leszek Dzielakowski, Ricky Lipiarski, Marian Jaworski, John Wallace, Greg Gamanski, Brendon Lakic, Tadeusz Krysinski, Peter Chapnik, Richard Sekulski, Stan Klain, Micheal Pichner and Alex Marshall. In charge of the team was Kaz Kowalec, a former great player himself.
Stefan Mila was awarded the 1983 Victorian State League Gold Medal – Player of the Year Award. The 1984 season Polonia finished Runners-up in the State League ending the season three points behind Morwell Falcons, and reaching the Dockerty Cup Final, losing to Fawkner 3:2 after extra time. Same year Janusz Przybyla was the State League's top Goalscorer netting 23 goals, despite been out injured for 5 games.
In 1987 Maribyrnong Polonia won its third Victorian State Championship. The team finished on top of the league with 42 points, three point ahead of Green Gully.The Club's woes began the following season. Due to poor management of the Club's finances and by overpaying most of its players, the club had no choice but to start selling its best players. From 1989 to 1992 Polonia suffered successive relegations.
Polonia has been gifted with having some of the most influential people in Polish circles amongst its ranks, the likes of Ted Lezon, who has served in every capacity within the Club and is accredited with single handedly, saving the Club from extinction, soon after its glorious 1987 State League Championship Win. He has been a mentor to many of the present committee and still casts his long shadow today.The late Tomasz Ostrowski, gifted writer, journalist, philosopher extraordinary and Champion of Polish causes. Polonia secured approval to play its matches at Maribyrnong at the old Tracy Speedway venue and in an effort to assimilate with the local community renamed themselves "Polonia Maribyrnong Soccer Club". They remained at this venue until 1991, at which time they moved to the Polish Sports and Recreation Centre, Albion where facilities were created for their permanent stay.
Polonia has always been a force to contend with in Victorian Soccer circles and has won countless titles. Polonia won the Victorian Championship on three occasions, in the seasons of 1960, 1961 and 1987.
1998–2016
Since 1998 Polonia is known as Western Eagles Football Club, changing club name from Sunshine Heights, which the club has been known as from 1991, after the move to the club's new home at Albion. The "Polonia" being dropped as a requirement of the Victorian Soccer Federation to shed their ethnic appeal in 1992.
One of the darkest chapters in the club's history was the disastrous merger venture with Melbourne City. For reasons not known or understood to this day by many supporters, the club’s committee made a decision to merge with and compete as Melbourne City in the Victorian State League Division 1 in the 1999 season. In the 2000 season due to the legacy of that merger Western Eagles found themselves in the Victorian Provisional League Division 3. With new club President Darren Bednarski, who embed new life to the club and with the appointment of Leszek Dzielakowski as head coach, the club started a brief revival with three promotions in five years, rising from Provisional League Division 3 to Victorian State League Division 3, where the club finished in 8th position in the 2005 season, coached by Milorad Gelic. In this period the Club won its first league Championship in 16 years, topping the Victorian Provisional League Division 2 in 2003 on 46 points – 5 points ahead of Ballarat. This was the first year the Club was in charge by the new Club President – Tadeusz Ziegler. Players who were most involved in that period were ; Darren Bednarski, Ivan Devcic, Paul Dzielakowski, Wojciech Galon, Kamil Gamanski, Andrew Gurman, Konrad Leski, Lukasz Lewinski, Adam Mostowski, Alex Samayoa, Marek Szczepanski and Slawomir Zientara.
The 2006 season was disastrous. The club was hit by crisis after crisis, coaching changes and a player walkout, which saw the club relegated back to Provisional League.
Wojciech Laskowski was elected Club President in 2010, the year the club was celebrating its 60th year of existence. The team coached by Sinisa Opacic became Provisional League 2 champions, topping the league table with 44 points. On August 6, 2011 the club organized a 60th Anniversary Gala where the Eagles had over 200 supporters gather, with former greats and the current team members at the Polish Sport and Recreation Centre. They spoke about legends of years past, relived the glory years and discuss the current club situation.
The club's Head coach for the 2013 and 2014 season was Srecko Baresic-Nikic, a former professional player himself in Europe. He holds a FFA ”B” License with Football Federation Australia and with his 26 years International Coaching Experience from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Germany and Australia, he together with the club committee and players planned to bring Western Eagles back on the Victorian football map. The 2013 season Eagles finished 5th on the table with 32 points, and still manage to win promotion to Division 3 due to the new competition format for state level football in Victoria, ending the season with a 3:1 win of league champions Corio. The team also had a solid run in the 2013 edition of the FFV State Knockout Cup were the club reached Round 5, going down to Preston Lions 1:2, after an entertaining game at Albion. The team played throughout the 2013 season facing many injury problems, giving a chance to play many of the club's youth players, one of them been Thomas Deng, who in 2014 signed with the A-League Club Melbourne Victory and made his first international appearance for Australia Under-20 side. Deng made his senior football debut for Western Eagles against Williamstown. Kacper Hubiak became the club's top goalscorer for the fourth consecutive season, with 15 goals, first player to do so in the Club's 63-year history. Despite a solid start to the 2014 season where Eagles were sitting in second position in the table after Round 8 with 16 points, the team had a disappointing end to the year losing the last 4 games, including a crushing 8:1 defeat in round 20 to the league champions Essendon Royals. It was the third biggest league defeat in the club's history.
For over 15 years, since the 2000 season, the club is fortunate to have a dynamic, hard working and controversial figure amongst its ranks, a former player himself, Mark Szpakolski, who gives the club plenty of drive and passion. Also the likes of Joe Gorczynski, Janusz Przybyla and Wladyslaw Pejko who are supporting the Club by providing constructive and positive influence to others involved. The supportive role of Steve Janus, who is one of the club's major sponsors for the last 15 years.
At the beginning of the 2016 season the club committee and its junior players, was presented with a cheque from Hyundai Australia as part of the "Goals For Grassroots" program. The presentation took place at Etihad Stadium before the A-League fixture between Melbourne Victory and Western Sydney Wanderers. During the 2016 season, a dismal run of form saw the team slip to the bottom of the league table with only 6 points from 10 games. Eagles finished in 10th place with 23 points. The side's relegation was confirmed by a lost in the relegation playoff to FC Strathmore 1:0, by a way of a penalty kick in the first half, on September 24, at Paisley Park.
Club name changes
- 1950 to 1972 Polonia S.C.
- 1973 to 1990 Maribyrnong Polonia S.C.
- 1991 to 1992 Sunshine Heights Polonia S.C.
- 1993 to 1997 Sunshine Heights S.C.
- 1998 onwards Western Eagles F.C.
Honours
- Victorian Champions (3) : 1960, 1961, 1987
- Victorian Runners-Up (4) : 1955, 1963, 1968, 1984
- Victorian Division 1 Champions (1) : 1981
- Victorian Division 1 Runners-Up (1) : 1979
- Victorian Division 2 Runners-Up (1) : 1953
- Victorian Division 3 Champions (1) : 1952
- Victorian Division 4 Champions (1) : 1951
- Victorian Provisional League 2 (North-West) Champions (2) : 2003, 2010
- Victorian Provisional League 3 (North-West) Runners-Up (1) : 2000
- Dockerty Cup Winners (1) : 1961
- Dockerty Cup Runners-Up (4) : 1955, 1963, 1976, 1984
- Australia Cup Runners-Up (1) : 1963
- Ampol Cup Winners (2) : 1963, 1964
- Buffalo Cup Winners (1) : 1984
- Laidlaw World Cup (2) : 1953, 1961
- Armstrong Cup (3) : 1957, 1959, 1973
- Victorian State League Cup (Top 4 Series) Winners : 1960
- Victorian State League Cup (Top 4 Series) Runners-Up : 1984, 1987
- Victorian State League Top 4 Finalists : 1960, 1961, 1963, 1968, 1984, 1987
Individual honours
Victorian State League Gold Medal – Player of the Year
- 1983 – Stefan Mila
Victorian State League Leading Goal Scorer
- 1961 – Mieczyslaw Jurecki 17 goals
- 1963 – Edward Jankowski 21 goals
- 1984 – Janusz Przybyla 23 goals
Bill Fleming Medal
- 1956 – Bob Wemyss
- 1960 – Wieslaw Janczyk
Sporting Globe Medal
- 1961 – Mieczyslaw Jurecki
International Representatives
Thomas Deng- Danny Tiatto
- Robert Wemyss
Wieslaw Janczyk- Edward Jankowski
- Eugeniusz Lerch
- Edmund Zientara
Coaches with International Club Experience
Miron Bleiberg 1986–87
Srecko Baresic – Nikic 2013–14
Club Presidents
- Wladyslaw Kowalik 1950
- Zdzislaw Zabuski 1951
- Dr. Charles Walker 1952–53, 1955–56, 1958–63
- Victor Ertel 1957
- Marian Zarzycki 1964–66, 1968–71
- Janusz Klimecki 1967
- Basil Sowacki 1972–73, 1975
- George Kerry 1974
- Wladyslaw Suwinski 1975–77
- George Pater 1978
- Mieczyslaw Zurek 1979–1985, 1994
- Richard Makarucha 1986–88
- Tadeusz Lezon 1989–90, 1992
- Joe Gorczynski 1991–92
- Henry Dressler 1993
- Miroslaw Rybak 1995–97
- Wally Klain 1998
- John Pater 1999
- Darren Bednarski 2000–02
- Tadeusz Ziegler 2003–06
- Adam Drahan 2007, 2015
- Steve Janus 2008–09
- Wojciech Laskowski 2010–14, 2016
- Adam Jaskulowski 2017
Western Eagles Divisional history
| Season | League | Position | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | GF | GA | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Victorian Division 4 | 1 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 70 | 5 | 27 |
| 1952 | Victorian Division 3 | 1 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 89 | 8 | 36 |
| 1953 | Victorian Division 2 | 2 | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 66 | 16 | 30 |
| 1954 | Victorian Division 1 | 3 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 36 | 24 | 22 |
| 1955 | Victorian Division 1 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 45 | 22 | 29 |
| 1956 | Victorian Division 1 | 4 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 55 | 22 | 23 |
| 1957 | Victorian Division 1 | 8 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 36 | 32 | 18 |
| 1958 | Victorian State League | 6 | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 45 | 36 | 24 |
| 1959 | Victorian State League | 6 | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 37 | 31 | 23 |
| 1960 | Victorian State League | 1 | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 54 | 20 | 37 |
| 1961 | Victorian State League | 1 | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 51 | 19 | 35 |
| 1962 | Victorian State League | 8 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 30 | 29 | 21 |
| 1963 | Victorian State League | 2 | 22 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 63 | 21 | 32 |
| 1964 | Victorian State League | 6 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 46 | 25 | 26 |
| 1965 | Victorian State League | 8 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 24 | 21 |
| 1966 | Victorian State League | 8 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 24 | 26 | 19 |
| 1967 | Victorian State League | 9 | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 41 | 45 | 16 |
| 1968 | Victorian State League | 2 | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 25 | 26 |
| 1969 | Victorian State League | 8 | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 22 | 37 | 20 |
| 1970 | Victorian State League | 8 | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 34 | 43 | 20 |
| 1971 | Victorian State League | 7 | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 21 | 26 | 22 |
| 1972 | Victorian State League | 9 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 17 |
| 1973 | Victorian State League | 8 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 28 | 18 |
| 1974 | Victorian State League | 10 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 24 | 27 | 17 |
| 1975 | Victorian State League | 10 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 36 | 16 |
| 1976 | Victorian State League | 12 | 22 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 44 | 9 |
| 1977 | Victorian State League | 12 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 21 | 47 | 8 |
| 1978 | Victorian Metropolitan League Division 1 | 3 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 19 | 26 |
| 1979 | Victorian Metropolitan League Division 1 | 2 | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 39 | 19 | 29 |
| 1980 | Victorian Metropolitan League Division 1 | 3 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 27 | 18 | 26 |
| 1981 | Victorian Metropolitan League Division 1 | 1 | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 53 | 23 | 35 |
| 1982 | Victorian State League | 5 | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 47 | 37 | 29 |
| 1983 | Victorian State League | 6 | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 38 | 35 | 26 |
| 1984 | Victorian State League | 2 | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 64 | 37 | 37 |
| 1985 | Victorian State League | 6 | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 35 | 29 | 27 |
| 1986 | Victorian State League | 12 | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 23 | 30 | 19 |
| 1987 | Victorian State League | 1 | 28 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 43 | 23 | 42 |
| 1988 | Victorian State League | 12 | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 41 | 42 | 26 |
| 1989 | Victorian State League | 16 | 30 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 19 | 76 | 10 |
| 1990 | Victorian State League Division 1 | 12 | 26 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 33 | 41 | 20 |
| 1991 | Victorian State League Division 2 | 15 | 30 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 64 | 20 |
| 1992 | Victorian State League Division 3 | 13 | 28 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 33 | 50 | 22 |
| 1993 | Victorian State League Division 4 | 7 | 28 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 32 | 32 | 29 |
| 1994 | Victorian State League Division 4 | 8 | 28 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 42 | 41 | 27 |
| 1995 | Victorian State League Division 4 | 7 | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 39 | 31 | 37 |
| 1996 | Victorian State League Division 4 | 4 | 26 | 15 | 3 | 8 | 55 | 27 | 48 |
| 1997 | Victorian State League Division 4 | 4 | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 58 | 30 | 50 |
| 1998 | Victorian State League Division 4 | 10 | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 40 | 48 | 29 |
| 1999 | 'merged with and competed as Melbourne City | ||||||||
| 2000 | Victorian Provisional League Division 3 N/W | 2 | 22 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 61 | 32 | 49 |
| 2001 | Victorian Provisional League Division 2 N/W | 3 | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 46 | 18 | 42 |
| 2002 | Victorian Provisional League Division 2 N/W | 4 | 22 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 53 | 29 | 38 |
| 2003 | Victorian Provisional League Division 2 N/W | 1 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 44 | 16 | 46 |
| 2004 | Victorian Provisional League Division 1 N/W | 3 | 22 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 44 | 31 | 38 |
| 2005 | Victorian State League Division 3 N/W | 8 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 37 | 37 | 30 |
| 2006 | Victorian State League Division 3 N/W | 12 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 13 | 55 | 10 |
| 2007 | Victorian Provisional League Division 1 N/W | 7 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 31 | 32 | 30 |
| 2008 | Victorian Provisional League Division 1 N/W | 8 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 38 | 33 | 29 |
| 2009 | Victorian Provisional League Division 1 N/W | 11 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 23 | 35 | 18 |
| 2010 | Victorian Provisional League Division 2 N/W | 1 | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 41 | 19 | 44 |
| 2011 | Victorian Provisional League Division 1 N/W | 11 | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 32 | 39 | 21 |
| 2012 | Victorian Provisional League Division 2 N/W | 8 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 33 | 39 | 28 |
| 2013 | Victorian State League Division 4 W | 5 | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 35 | 27 | 32 |
| 2014 | Victorian State League Division 3 N/W | 6 | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 30 | 32 | 26 |
| 2015 | Victorian State League Division 3 N/W | 6 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 28 | 35 | 29 |
| 2016 | Victorian State League Division 3 N/W | 10 | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 32 | 44 | 23 |
- Total games played 1485 – W 620 – D 329 – L 536 GF 2465 GA 2061 in 65 seasons
- Divisional History source from OzFootball.net
All-time table
| League | number of seasons | total games | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State League* | 32 | 730 | 287 | 161 | 282 | 1121 | 1036 |
| State/Division 1 | 5 | 114 | 53 | 30 | 31 | 176 | 120 |
| State/Division 2 | 2 | 48 | 20 | 10 | 18 | 89 | 80 |
| State/Division 3 | 7 | 155 | 59 | 25 | 71 | 262 | 261 |
| State/Division 4 | 8 | 196 | 93 | 39 | 64 | 371 | 241 |
| Provisional League 1 | 5 | 110 | 37 | 26 | 47 | 168 | 170 |
| Provisional League 2 | 5 | 110 | 57 | 31 | 22 | 217 | 121 |
| Provisional League 3 | 1 | 22 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 61 | 32 |
| TOTAL | 65 | 1485 | 620 | 329 | 536 | 2465 | 2061 |
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Records
- Best Result in the Victorian State League: 8–0 vs Brighton at Maribyrnong Reserve 29 March 1958, 8–0 vs South Melbourne Hellas at Middle Park Soccer Stadium 21 May 1983
- Worst Result in the Victorian State League : 0–9 vs Green Gully at Green Gully Reserve 27 August 1989
- Best Crowd in League Competition Victorian State League : 20,000 vs South Melbourne Hellas at Olimpic Park 21 July 1963
- Best Result in the FFV State Knockout Cup/Dockerty Cup : 12–2 vs Pucka Rovers 30 August 1952
- Worst Result in the FFV State Knockout Cup/Dockerty Cup : 0–7 vs Frankston Pines at Polish Sports Centre Albion 12 February 1995
- Most Points in a Season : 50 points in 1997
- Most Wins in a Season : 18 wins in 1952 and 1987
- Most Goals in a Seasons : 89 goals in 1952
- Biggest Winning Streak : 28 games – from Round 7 1951 to Round 2 1953
- Biggest Losing Streak : 8 games – from Round 7 1986 to Round 14 1986
- Biggest Unbeaten Streak : 40 games – from Round 1 1951 to Round 8 1953
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| Highest scoring League games | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Goals | vs | Date | Score |
| 11 | Monbulk | 7 June 1997 | 11:0 |
| 10 | Heidelberg | 1951 | 10:0 |
| 10 | Footscray City | 21 July 1956 | 9:1 |
| 10 | West Preston | 9 July 2000 | 8:2 |
| 9 | Heidelberg | 1951 | 9:0 |
| 9 | Royal Caledonians | 17 May 1952 | 8:1 |
| 9 | Woodlands | 28 June 1952 | 9:0 |
| 9 | Moreland | 14 June 1958 | 2:7 |
| 9 | Green Gully | 27 August 1989 | 0:9 |
| 9 | Frankston Pines | 3 September 1989 | 5:4 |
| 9 | Westgate | 10 June 1990 | 4:5 |
| 9 | Corio | 14 May 2005 | 6:3 |
| 9 | Essendon Royals | 30 August 2014 | 1:8 |
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Western Eagles – Polonia – Championship Teams
| Year | Players used |
|---|---|
| 1951 | 1. Stefan Czauderna, 2. Jan Mazurek, 3. Boleslaw Zablocki, 4. Augustyn Dziura, 5. Stanislaw Galecki, 6. Henryk Jakubowski, 7. Tadeusz Koszanski, 8. Tadeusz Bialek, 9. Emanuel Wolany, 10. Ludwik Cebula, 11. Jan Garcarczyk, 12. Mieczyslaw Terlikowski, 13. Julian Chrzanowski, 14. Stanislaw Bialas, 15. Stanislaw Grabski, 16. Jozef Kopacz, 17. Bronislaw Langiewicz, 18. Mikolaj Pavlov Coach Boleslaw Mlewski |
| 1952 | 1. Stefan Czauderna, 2.Jan Mazurek, 3. Boleslaw Zablocki, 4. Augustyn Dziura, 5. Stanislaw Galecki, 6. Henryk Jakubowski 7. Julian Chrzanowski, 8. Czerkiewicz, 9. Palka, 10. Zdenek, 11. J. Zuraszek Coach Boleslaw Mlewski |
| 1960 | 1. John Morks, 2. Mieczyslaw Jurecki, 3. Kazimierz Szygalski, 4. Roch Dronia, 5. Jerzy Dudon, 6. Wladyslaw Gamaj, 7. Ryszard Szczepanski, 8. Wieslaw Janczyk, 9. Zdzislaw Maruszkiewicz, 10. Remo Guardiani, 11. Marian Gasior, 12. Bruno Rueter, 13. Harry Capobus, 14. Anton Brkic, 15. Vince Parlatoni, 16. Henryk Jakubowski, 17. Bernard Biro Coach Wieslaw Janczyk |
| 1961 | 1. John Morks, 2. Mieczyslaw Jurecki, 3. Kazimierz Szygalski, 4. Roch Dronia, 5. Jerzy Dudon, 6. Wladyslaw Gamaj, 7. Ryszard Szczepanski, 8. Wieslaw Janczyk, 9. Zdzislaw Maruszkiewicz, 10. Remo Guardiani, 11. Marian Gasior, 12. Henryk Gronowski, 13. Robert Gronowski, 14. Ference Voros, 15. Zygmunt Gross, 16.Mike Terlikowski, 17.Bruno Reuter, 18 Anton Brkic Coach Wieslaw Janczyk |
| 1981 | 1. Leszek Dzielakowski (22/0), 2. Richard Lipiarski (22/0), 3. Marian Jaworski (22/0), 4. Joe Herman (9/0), 5. John Wallace (22/5), 6. Greg Gamanski (19/1), 7. Andrew Czapnik (4/1), 8. Chris Gerick (11/0), 9. Brendan Lakic (22/14), 10. Tadeusz Krysinski (20/14), 11. Peter Chapnik (22/7), 12. Richard Sekulski (19/4),13. Stan Klain (15/0), 14. Micheal Pichner (17/1), 15. Tad Rachwalski (2/0), 16. Alex Marshall (12/5) Coach Kazimierz Kowalec |
| 1987 | 1. Barney Kostrzewa (12/0), 2. Richard Lipiarski (28/0), 3. Gerry Bennett (28/0), 4. Aki Kotzamichaelis (28/3), 5. Greg Warszawski (17/9), 6. Peter Chapnik (25/4), 7. Jan Wycislik (27/5), 8. Gordan Flavell (24/0), 9. Brendan Lakic (26/3), 10. Kees Storm (28/11), 11. Miroslaw Smolarek (22/0), 12. Joe Kiss (16/0), 13. Rob Nelson (28/0), 14. Alex Marshall (17/4), 15 Janusz Baran (12/0), 16 Steve Chetcuti (5/0), 17 Paul Drinoczky (3/0), 18 Leszek Gregorczuk (3/0), 19 Janusz Przybyla (1/0), 20 Bobby Stojcevski (1/0), 21 Luke Ognenovski (1/0) Coach Miron Bleiberg (15), Rob Nelson (13) (Matches played / Goals scored ) |
| 2003 | 1. Slawomir Zientara (18/0), 2. Andrew Jezard (13/0), 3. Marek Szczepanski (16/2), 4. Lukasz Lewinski (19/0), 5. Eric Zsembrey (17/1), 6. Alex Samayoa (22/4), 7. Andrew Gurman (8/2), 8. Kamil Gamanski (17/5), 9. Ivan Devcic (20/13) 10. Wojciech Galon (22/2), 11. Konrad Leski (17/10), 12. Adam Dachs (4/0), 13. Krzysztof Grabowski (3/0), 14. Milton Lopez (7/0), 15. Mark Tassone (14/0), 16. Fortunato Lariccia (11/0), 17. Piotr Marmura (8/1), 18. Tomasz Wierzbicki (17/1), 19. Andrew Mottram (5/0), 20. Ante Lanzaneo (13/1), 21. Andrew Najda (9/0), 22. Mateusz Kowalski (3/0), 23. Krzysztof Slodyczka (1/0) Coach Nino Comegna |
| 2010 | 1. Marek Klek, 2. Lukasz Galon, 3. Charles Mizzi, 4. Adam Melideo, 5. Darko Dukic, 6. Adrian Purganic, 7. Andrew Donato, 8. Mateusz Kowalski, 9. Kacper Hubiak, 10. Wojciech Galon, 11. Robert Chelchowski, 12. John Strycharski, 13. Owen Sacco, 14. Robert Rubinich, 15. Adrian Kozulin, 16. Lukasz Lewinski, 17. Maciej Slodyczka, 18. Phillip Mucha, 19. Konrad Leski Coach Sinisa Opacic |
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1960
Cup Competition
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Dockerty Cup Finals
| Year | Champion | Runner up | Score | Goal Scorer | Polonia Lineup | Venue | Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Hakoah | Polonia | 2:0 | J.Gottesman 60,
R.Piercy 85 |
Steve Czauderna, Harry Capobus, Henryk Jakubowski; Bob Wemyss, Bill Lawrie, Stanislaw Plekan, Andrew Czerkaski, Robert Strahan, Peter Schipperheyn, John Backley, Jim Johnson | Showgrounds, Ascot Vale | 6500 |
| 1961 | Maribyrnong Polonia | George Cross | 4:2 | M.Jurecki (2)
Z.Gross Z.Maruszkiewicz (Polonia) SG: B.Copeland (2) (George Cross) |
Henryk Gronowski, Robert Gronowski, Marian Gasior, Wieslaw Janczyk, Zdzislaw Maruszkiewicz, Richard Szczepanski, Jerzy Dudon, Zygmunt Gross, Mieczyslaw Jurecki, Wieslaw Gamaj, Roch Dronia | Olimpic Park | 5000 |
| 1963 | Footscray JUST | Maribyrnong Polonia | 4:2 | I.Pikl (2)
T.Stankovic M.Pejovic (JUST) M.Jurecki E.Jankowski (Polonia) |
Bruno Putkowski, Marian Gasior, Richard Szczepanski, Wieslaw Janczyk, Zygmunt Gross, Jackie Dudon, Micheal Mroczkowski (Sent off), Edward Jankowski, Mieczyslaw Jurecki, Edmund Zientara, Roch Dronia | Olimpic Park | 6000 |
| 1976 | Footscray JUST | Maribyrnong Polonia | 2:0 | Palinkas 2, Buljevic 80 | Larry Ostrowsky, Stan Klain, Marian Jaworski, Eddie Marmur, Barney Klimecki, Andrew Czapnik, George Nierobicz, Ricky Lipiarski (John Dykun 71’), Michael Borucinski (Ralph Esposito 56’), Joe Herman, Hugh Humphrey.Coach: John Grimsey. | Olimpic Park | |
| 1984 | Fawkner | Maribyrnong Polonia | 3:2 a.e.t. | N.Garvey 13, P.Boyle 32, F.MacLeod 93 (Fawkner)
C.Fattore 40og, D.McCluskey 79 (Polonia) |
Mike Fryszer, Ricky Lipiarski, Mirek Smolarek, John Gardiner, Danny McCluskey, Nick Kolaric (Leszek Gregorczuk 99), Carl Gilder, Dave Gibson, George Petrov, Joe Tront, Noel Mitten. Coach: John Gardiner. | Olimpic Park |
Top Goal Scorers
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Longest Serving Players (First Team Appearances)
16 seasons
- Andrew Czapnik (1969–1977, 1980–1986)
15 seasons
- Richard Lipiarski (1975–1989)
- Lukasz Lewinski (1998, 2000–2008, 2010–2011, 2013–2014, 2016)
14 seasons
- Peter Czapnik (1976–1989)
- Mateusz Kowalski (2003–2016)
12 seasons
- Edward Marmur (1965–1976)
- Wojciech Galon (2001–2006, 2010, 2012–2016)
11 seasons
- Ron Horfiniak (1971–1980, 1983)
- Brendon Lakic (1978–1983, 1987–1989, 1994–1995)
- Kamil Gamanski (1993–1998, 2001–2005)
- Maciej Slodyczka (2005–2010, 2012–2016)
10 seasons
- Henryk Jakubowski (1951–1960)
- Wieslaw Janczyk (1959–1961, 1963–1969)
- Czeslaw Plaskota (1964–1973)
- Michael Olinowski (1966–1975)
- Marian Jaworski (1971–1977, 1981–1983)
External links
- Western Eagles FC official website
- Western Eagles Facebook Page
- Western Eagles page on OzFootball
- Football Federation Victoria