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.
History
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.