Ellerslie Eagles


The Ellerslie Eagles are a rugby league club based in Ellerslie, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1912 and competes in Auckland Rugby League competitions. Its premier team competes in the Sharman cup. The club celebrated its centenary Queen's Birthday weekend, 2012.

History

The club was formed as the Ellerslie Wanderers at a meeting in April 1912 at the Ellerslie Hotel. However, with the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the club went into temporary recess for four years.
The club was reestablished on 26 July 1919 as the Ellerslie United Rugby League Club. With its reestablishment, the club adopted the Red, Blue and White colours that it still currently uses. In 1931, at request of the Auckland Rugby League, an amalgamation of the Ellerslie, Otahuhu and Mangere clubs took place, but all plans of this merger were abandoned before the year ended.
The club had a golden period in the 1950s, claiming the 1955 Roope Rooster and Stormont Shield, the 1956 Roope Rooster, the 1957 Fox Memorial and Rukutai Shield and the 1959 Roope Rooster and Stormont Shield. The club also played against three clubs from the New South Wales Rugby League premiership, losing to the Balmain Tigers 35–7 in 1956, defeating the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 16–15 in 1958 and losing to the St. George Dragons 10–11 in 1959.
During the 1960s the Auckland Rugby League instituted a districts programme and Ellerslie, City Newton and Eastern Suburbs combined to form Eastern Districts. The combination won almost every trophy between 1960 and 1963 before the clubs regained their separate identities. In 1968 the Pakuranga club was formed as a feeder club to Ellerslie. Former New Zealand national rugby league team representative Maurie Robertson was appointed as coach in 1970.
The club officially adopted the Eagles name in 1971. During the 1980s the club bounced between the first and second divisions, with Sharman Cup wins in 1981 and 1986. They again lifted the Sharman Cup in 1991 and 1992. The club was affiliated to the Auckland City Vulcans during the 1994 Lion Red Cup and joined the Eastern Tornadoes side with the advent of the Bartercard Cup in 2000. In 2004 the club left the Tornadoes to become part of the Otahuhu-Ellerslie Leopards side in the Bartercard Cup.
The club celebrated its centenary on Queen's Birthday weekend 2012.

Notable players

Ellerslie's best player ever is arguably Cyril Eastlake. Other Kiwi representatives include Craddock Dufty, Brian Campbell, Bruce Castle, Gary Phillips, Graham Brown, Bruce Castle, Ken McCracken, Jim Patterson, Ray Sinel, Brian Clark, Rob Orchard, Ken Stirling, Chris Jordan, Doug Gailey, Lyndsay Proctor, Gary Kemble, Logan Swann, Murray Eade, Tame Tupou and Kieran Foran.
Both Sean Hoppe and Kevin Iro played for the Glen Innes Falcons, a feeder club to Ellerslie during the 1980s.
Other notable players include Aaron and Stuart Lester, Doc Murray, Tongan internationals David Fisiiahi and Filimone Lolohea, Glen Fisiiahi and Liam Foran.