UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES-EASTERN SUBURBS (Paddington/East Sydney/Eastern Suburbs/University of NSW)
Affiliated: NSWAFA 1881-1895; NSWAFL 1903-26; NSWANFL 1927-73; NSWAFL 1974-80; SFL 1981-86; NSWAFL State League 1987-89; SFL 1990-1998; SAFL 1999-present
Club Address: c/o Sports Association, Sam Cracknell Pavilion, University of New South Wales 2052, New South Wales
Home Ground: Village Green Oval, University of New South Wales, Barker Street, Kensington
Formed: Paddington unknown; East Sydney (later Eastern Suburbs) 1880; University of New South Wales 1962; Eastern Suburbs and UNSW merged in 1999
Colours: Red, white and blue
Emblem: Bulldogs
Premierships: SAFL and precursors - Paddington 1915-16-17, 1919-20, 1922, 1924 (7 total); East Sydney 1881-82-83, 1890-91-92-93-94-95, 1903, 1911, 1918 (12 total); Eastern Suburbs/East Sydney 1926-27, 1941, 1953-54-55-57-57-58-59, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1980-81-82-83-84 (18 total); University of NSW-Eastern Suburbs 2002-03 (2 total)
SFA - University of NSW 1971-72, 1977, 1993-94 (5 total); University of NSW-Eastern Suburbs 2002 (1 total)
Phelan Medallists: Jack Williamson 1933, 1935, 1937-8; Brian Tyler 1969; Rob Claridge 1979; Laurie Axford 1981; Chris O'Dwyer 1994; James McPherson 2002; S.Pech 2004; Troy Luff 2006 (8 Medallists/11 Medals)
Snow Medallists: University of New South Wales - Paul Annett 1989; Stephen Byrns 1995-96; Mark Knight 1999 (3 Medallists/4 Medals)
S(A)FL Top Goalkickers: Paddington - S.Milton (52) 1922, (46) 1924 & (62) 1925; G.Watson (42) 1923 (4 total) Eastern Suburbs/East Sydney - D.Collins (32) 1903; G.Knott (48) 1921; S.Milton (58) 1927 & (78) 1933; M.Edgeworth (72) 1940 & (35) 1942; S.Loxton (71) 1945; C.Wines (56) 1948 & (81) 1949; J.Hughes (89) 1953; J.Hamilton (87) 1968; P.Physick (63) 1977; P.Ruscuklic (136) 1979, (156) 1980 & (213) 1981; G.Spaulding (105) 1982; A.Mapleson (115) 1986; B.Abbott (71) 2007 & (89) 2008 (19 total)
Highest Score: 47.21 (303) vs. Liverpool 4.3 (27) in 1982
| MINI-BIOGRAPHIES: | Dick Condon Jack Dean Roy Hayes Stan Milton William 'Digger' Thomas Jack Williamson |
| XXXX |
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East Sydney's Paul Paitry wins the tap against Western Suburbs' Bob Danby in the 1972 grand final. (Click to see an enlarged version of the image.) |
The current University of New South Wales-Eastern Suburbs Football Club has a long and rather convoluted history. Its origins lie as long ago as 1880, when the original East Sydney Football Club was formed. The Paddington Football Club, with which East Sydney would eventually merge forty-six years later, was also in existence at the time, although its actual date of origin is uncertain. The New South Wales Australian Football League, antecedent of today's Sydney AFL, was formed in 1903, with eleven member clubs. Both East Sydney and Paddington participated, and both did well, the former winning the premiership with an 18 point grand final victory over North Shore, and the latter finishing 3rd. Prior to the merger in 1926 East Sydney and Paddington were among the most successful clubs in Sydney, as the following table clearly shows: |
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| XXXX | ||
| NSWANFL Roll of Honour 1903-1925 | |||
| Club | Premierships | Runners Up | Finals Appearances |
| Paddington | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| Sydney | 6 | 2 | 14 |
| East Sydney | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| North Shore | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| YMCA | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Newtown | 1 | 8 | 17 |
| South Sydney | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Balmain | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Redfern | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Given their mutual success, the move to amalgamate seems a strange one, but no doubt the reasons precipitating the move seemed persuasive at the time. In any case, it is difficult to criticise a venture which proved so successful, as for more than half a century the merged organisation was by some measure the most consistently successful in Sydney football.
The club was known as Eastern Suburbs until the end of the 1968 season, when it reverted to the name 'East Sydney'. It became known as Eastern Suburbs again in the 1990s.
| Its most auspicious era came in the 1950s, when
it claimed seven
premierships in a row from 1953 to 1959, establishing a record, which still
stands, for the most successive flags in any senior state football league.
The club was also strong during the first half of the 1980s, when five successive
flags between 1980 and 1984 produced an average winning score of 73 points. The
tally of 30.24 (204) amassed against North Shore in the 1980 grand final is a
league record for a premiership deciding match. After winning the 1984 flag East
Sydney went on to contest each subsequent finals series during the 1980s, but
without enjoying further premiership success.
Among the most famous players to don the Bulldogs' jumper was former Fitzroy and Geelong full forward Peter Ruscuklic, who broke the NSWAFL goal kicking record three consecutive times between 1979 and 1981. His tally of 213 goals in the last of those years remains a record for a major state competition. Four time Phelan Medallist J.Williamson was another champion to grace the red, white and blue. In 1999 Eastern Suburbs merged with the University of New South Wales, which had won eight flags at various levels since its formation in 1962; the new club went top in 2002 with a 16.10 (106) to 11.6 (72) grand final defeat of North Shore, before repeating the exploit a year later after a much harder fought 6 point victory over the same club. In 2004, however, it had to endure the disappointment of bowing out of the finals in 'straight sets' against North Shore and St George, while the 2005 season came to an end with a 43 point 1st semi final loss to North Shore. |
Ace goalsneak Peter Ruscuklic, who snared 505 majors in just 3 seasons. |
Fortunes took a disappointing downswing in 2006 as the side missed the finals for the first time since 2001, slumping to 6th place with just 6 wins from 16 matches and the dire percentage of 64.75. There was marginal improvement in 2007 as the Bulldogs won precisely half of their matches although this was still only good enough to secure 6th position on the ladder.
The 2008 season saw the Bulldogs qualify for the finals in pole position after claiming 15 wins from their 18 minor round matches. However, their finals form was woeful and they bowed out of premiership contention with straight sets losses to Pennant Hills and East Coast Eagles. A year later they got as far as the grand final only to succumb by 9 goals to East Coast.
The Bulldogs were for a time the only to club to field teams in both the SAFL and the SFA, with the SFA side recording a premiership in 2002, and finishing runners-up to arch rivals Sydney University in 2003. Since 2005, however, the club's reserve team has competed in the SAFL reserve grade.
Recent seasons have seen the seniors experiencing mixed fortunes exemplified by a losing grand final appearance in 2009 and a second from last finish a year later.
Where now?
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