Weston Bears Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Weston, New South Wales. At its senior level the club participates in the National Premier Leagues Northern NSW, the highest tier of Northern New South Wales Football and the second tier of Australian football after the A-League.
History
Three Weston football clubs were formed in 1907; Weston Advance, Weston United and Weston Albions. The Bears are also credited as being founded in 1907 by coalminers who worked at the Hebburn Colliery.
The Bears have spent the majority of their 100-year history in the top flight of local football, winning 13 Grand Finals, 9 Premierships and 9 Club Championships.
Club colours
Weston wear Black and White striped jerseys, with black shorts and black socks with white trimming.
It is thought that Weston chose these colours due to the large number of English coalminers hailing from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne who settled in the region and helped to set up Weston Workers Football Club.
Weston's away strip is currently a fluoro yellow jersey with black trim.
During the 1980s, Weston wore a yellow away strip, which resulted in the fans referring to the team as 'The Canaries' for a short period.
Home ground
Weston play their home games at Rockwell Automation Park (sometimes referred to as Bear Park). Rockwell Automation Park has been home to the Bears since 1955. The park has two grandstands: the main stand and members stand for club members.
Recent seasons
Weston's performances in recent seasons of the NBN State League: *2010: Deserved Minor Premiers finishing the year on 39 points in 1st place. 2009: Finished 7th 2008: 4th on 32 points. 2 goals from Grand Final berth. 2007: 7th on 23 points. 2006: 8th place on 17 points. 2005: 4th place on 28 points. Defeated 3–0 in Minor Semi Final by South Cardiff 2004: 1st place on 42 points. Defeated 3–1 in Grand Final by Broadmeadow Magic FC 2003: 3rd place on 36 points. Defeated by Edgeworth Eagles FC in Semi-final 2002: 6th place on 22 points. 2001: 6th place on 16 points. 2000: 11th place on 12 points. (NBN State League contained 12 teams from 1998 until the 2000 season) 1999: 7th place on 22 points. (NBN State League contained 12 teams from 1998 until the 2000 season) 1998: 10th place on 28 points. (NBN State League contained 12 teams from 1998 until the 2000 season) 1997: 5th place on 28 points. 1996: 1st place on 48 points. 1995: 3rd place on 38 points. 1994: – 1993: 6th place on 30 points. 1992: 6th place on 28 points.
2006 season
After qualifying for the semi-finals against expectations in the 2005 season, the 2006 season was expected to be difficult for the Bears.
The losses of Brad Swancott and James Monie to Broadmeadow Magic FC and Azzurri FC respectively were major blows for Weston, however the fans still held out hope that the young Bears team would be able to compete in the State League.
Weston struggled to string wins together throughout the season. Weston at times started to look like they had hit form, with wins such as the 4–1 victory over South Cardiff Gunners in Round 6, however they would often follow up with a lacklustre performance, such as the 7–0 defeat against Azzurri in Round 7.
Three-quarters of the way through the season, Weston looked as though they might be about to be dragged into a relegation dogfight with Adamstown Rosebud, however a win against South Cardiff in Round 15 followed by a 2–1 victory against Azzurri in Round 16 ensured the Bears would be in the State League for another season at least. Weston finished the season in 8th position.
The highlight of the 2006 season was the finals campaign of the Reserve Grade team. After finishing 4th on the table, the Reserves defeated Broadmeadow and Hamilton to qualify for the Grand Final, which they won 5–0 against Azzurri FC.
The Bears U19s team nearly made the semi-finals, finishing the season in 5th place.
The 2006 season was the last for Bears coach Trevor Morris who decided to step down after 4 years in the top job.
2007 season
The 2007 season saw several new coaches join the club, with Michael Boogaard coaching 1st Grade, Chad Dobson mentoring the Reserves and Paul Waters taking the Youth Coach position. The coaching transition came along with six teams instead of five with a new junior team coming in, the new U/ 13s. In 2007 the Bears also upgraded to a special centennial strip which all six grades will wear. With a strong finish to the season the Bears came in 7th, just 2 wins outside the top 4. The Reserve and Youth teams didn't fare any better, finishing 9th and 10th respectively.