The Talon November 1991

"Premiership Edition

EAGLES'S TEAM CARRIES OFF TITLE

The White Eagle Club took out its fourth back to back premiership and its fifth premiership in six years with a convincing 6-0 win over Burnie United at K.G.V. on Saturday the 21st September.

This league premiership victory being further enhanced by the fact that the side trailed Hobart Juventus by four points at the end of July (the end of round 14) and was not in a desirable position to retain the title at this late stage. Subsequent losses by Hobart Juventus to Devonport and Olympia and wins for White Eagle in its remaining five games proved crucial.

The matches played in Round 15 were morale lifting and crucial for the side, with an easy victory over Croatia 6-1 for the White Eagle side and a Hobart Juventus loss to Devonport. Round 16 was the bye round for White Eagle and was also the continuing of a sparse period between games for the team. With Burnie forfeiting the Round 17 game, and not being able to play the cup game against Riverside Olympic until August 24, meant the side played only two games in 5 weeks.

Round 18 game was against Calies and looked to be a tough game with Calies winning the previous encounter 2-1 and with the Eagle's side missing recent match practice. However White Eagle were too good on the night and defeated Calies 3-0. Also the following game on that night was between Hobart Juventus and Olympia. The subsequent victory to Olympia was a reward for the Eagle's players, this meant they could regain their title if they overcame Olympia and Burnie in their remaining
games.

The game against Burnie was originally awarded to White Eagle 3-0 on forfeit but subsequently the Tasmanian Soccer Association decided to replay the game due to its repercussions on the League Leading Goal Scorer Award and on the Vic Tuting Medal Count, also the league was close and goal difference might have ended up being a deciding factor. But it was the game against Olympia that appeared the biggest hurdle and threat to overcome.

Olympia put up the expected sustained effort but White Eagle put in a solid and convincing display that gave them victory 4-2 over Olympia, placing one of the Eagle's talons around the Statewide Premiership Cup.

The Burnie game was played in Hobart and by the time this game was played it was known that White Eagle needed at least a draw to retain the title and a loss would hand it to Hobart Juventus. But the Eagle's side with much more to play for, ended the first half five goals up and eventually ran out Premiers with a final 6-0 win.

Cadbury League - 1991

                     P  W  D  L  F  A Pts
White Eagle         16 13  -  3 59 26 39
Hobart Juventus     16 12  1  3 40 16 37
Launceston Juventus 16 10  2  4 36 24 32
Olympia-SBT         16  8  2  6 40 34 26
Croatia Glenorchy   16  6  2  8 33 37 20
Caledonians         16  5  4  7 20 25 19
Ulverstone          16  4  5  7 25 30 17
Devonport           16  4  4  8 25 34 16
Burnie United       16  -  - 16 14 60  -

Also congratulations go to Richard Leszczynski for taking out the Campbell Street Newsagency Top Goalscorer Award with 16 goals, one ahead of fellow player David Stoddart.

CUPS BRING MIXED FORTUNES

The State League side took out the Charity shield in the first of it pickings for the 1991 season with a 2-1 victory over Hobart Juventus.

The Pre-season Summer Cup was a roster system with the top two sides meeting in the final. Hobart Juventus and White Eagle eventually were the top two sides and played out the Easter Monday Final. This encounter resulted in their second cup victory with an overwhelming 4-2 result.

The Wrest Point Hotel Casino Statewide Cup was a less successful venture for the State League team with a disappointing lost to Launceston Juventus in the semi final, following a hard slog in the mire of Riverside Olympic's Launceston home ground for the semi final berth.

The final cup series to be played was following the completion of the league title. Losses in this series to Hobart Juventus and Olympia meant this was a not a successful campaign, but it was the end to a long season for the senior squad.

Division 1

Reserves. The Division One side finished off the season in a positive manor, to finish up mid-table after a slow start to the season. A number of games early in the season resulted in poor final scorelines for the side, despite some fighting performances the team had the worst of its luck in the closer tussles. Team coach Guilbert Steenhuis ended up with 22 points for his side, despite being in a lowly position in the early stage of the season. The first win of the season was against Hobart City and with the formalising of a more stable line-up the side gained another four victories in the league.

It is proposed that the reserve side will be playing in a State League format next year, so it is pleasing that this side has performed well at the latter stages of the season, and considering the relatively young age of the side. The team averaged over two goals a game, showing no lack of desire to play open soccer. Alan Wisby a young newcomer this year has earned some valuable experience in this side, and with the injury to Zlatko Belanic some further experience in the Senior arena. Alan and mid-fielder Damien Bones are among a number of promising players inline next season.

Under 14 Squad

Bob Osuchowski - U/14 Team: With the season over, looking back over the months, our results were not as good as we would have hoped for. With five wins and two draws our results did not really reflect the way the side played this year. They played with a lot of heart and determination and gave a full 100% with every game. Some of the games were close and ended with scorelines that could have gone either way. I want to thank all the boys :- Martin Wells, Mathew Murray, Darek Wojick, Dean Eddington, Adrian Kniaz, Steven Bukowiecki, Daniel Osuchowski, Darren Daido, Gerard Davis, Andrew Quaggin, Jason Spencer, Domonic Pietrzykowski, Nathan Robinson, Adam Ilich and James Poprowski for giving their best all season.

This year will be my last as Coach, although I have enjoyed immensely the last two years. But work commitments do not enable me to give enough time to the club or the players. I want to thank the White Eagle Soccer Club, the Polish Club, the Polish Credit Union and the parents for all their help and support during the years, and I wish the boys all the very best for next season.

Last but not least the boys want to congratulate the senior players on yet another premiership, making it four straight and a total of five out of six. Not a bad effort, so Please!! hang on to it again next year.

Division 3

John Large - Thirds: Once again we have had a very competitive year with the level of competition improving as each year progresses. Quite a few referees have commented about the level of talent, and that some games have been more than a pleasure to officiate.

This year has also seen the introduction of a bit of colour, this being in the form of our new Fijian recruits. Namely Selest, Arun Singh, Dal Sing and Jasbir Singh. With their efforts and those of our regular boys we have maintained our strength.

We finished the season as runners-up with South Hobart / Alps winning the title. The two meetings with the eventual premiers resulted in a 1-2 loss and a 2-1 win. Then finally in the knockout cup we were defeated again by South Hobart / Alps 2-1. As shown by the scorelines there was very little difference between the two of us. However I must point out that there were some other teams in the division that were more than equal to the task, but were unlucky not to come away with the points on the day.

May I take this opportunity to thank all the boys for their efforts throughout the season and I wish everyone the best for next year.

John

UNDER 17 SQUAD

Damien Bones - U/17 Team: The year was definitely a learning experience for those who played in the U/17 competition for White Eagle this Year. Most of our players being either U/14 or U/15 we put up a good fight in the league and let the larger more skilful sides know that we were there.

We had some good results against the stronger Juventus and Croatian teams getting points out of the games on occasions. There were other bad games where we just had lapses in concentration.

This season saw some improvements in players, like fullbacks Daniel Gower and Jeff Holmes, along with midfielder Steele Pullen. It was also good to have the consistency of players like Vance FitzGerald, Michael Murray and David Brown who pulled the side together through rough patches. Other good performers within the side were Sam Gorringe, Adrian McMullen, and Adam Jones who was also the leading team goalscorer for the side with 20 goals. Both goalkeepers performed well with Damien McMullen getting plenty of experience in Division 1.

Michael Murray, Adam Jones, Damien Bones, Sam Gorringe, Steele Pullen, Ben Freeman, Adrian McMullen and Damien McMullen were good enough to be selected in the Southern Tasmanian side, coached by Les Ware. Gorringe, Bones and D.McMullen were selected to represent Tasmania in the U/15 National Championships about a month ago.

All in all we had a fun soccer season and we are all looking forward to next season. On behalf of the players, many thanks go to Les Ware for coaching and Franco Previdi along with Max Jones for helping out throughout the season.

Damien Bones (Capt.)

Les Ware - Coaches Note: I would like to thank all the players of the Under 17 squad for the season of 1991, and especially the parents for letting the lads play their own style without any interference.

Of the lads, the season was well achieved by all, personal achievements were met, future talent was seen, and I hope your knowledge was increased but you still have enough appetite for next season. In all well done, have a good break, and see you back at the club next year. Thanks boys.

regard Les

The U/17 Squad was - Damien Bones, Vance FitzGerald, Benjamin Freeman, Sam Gorringe, Chris Holbrook, Adam Jones, Adrian McMullen, Damien McMullen, Michael Murray, David Brown, Chris Thomas, Steele Pullen, Jason Mahoney, Danny Samson-Gower, Jeff Holmes and Max Jones (Manager)

A number of people and organisations deserve thanks for their help this season and in previous years, for services, donations and support, and a number we are able to mention here. We thank again this year the Polish Credit Union for their generous donation to the club. The Polish Club continues to support the W.E.S.C. We thank them and encourage players and supporters to be prompt with their Polish Club Membership. Angel's Butchery is another organisation that has always supported the club and has been supportive again this year.

Stan Bielawski and Bielawski Motor Body Works have agreed to sponsor a new club strip for the senior side that we hope to unveil at the start of the '92 season.

Thanks also to Ingrid Leszczynski and Joy Stoddart for their help organising catering at events. Thanks to S & M Klimek whose residence was used for our VFL Grand Final function and thanks for their hospitality.

We thank those who donated prizes on our 30th anniversary evening including the A&B Foodstore and the Seven Day Super Store, both in North Hobart.

A number of organisations supported us from the start of the season including : West End Mechanical, Spring Works and Barrack Auto Electrics, Tasmanian Carpet Cleaning, Derwent First National, and Wrest Point Hotel Casino.

Congratulations go to the Wrest Point Hotel Casino for their decision to sponsor the State League next year, a decision we hope will be fruitful for them and soccer in general. The announcement was made at the Vic Tuting Medal Count at Wrest Point, and where congratulations go to John Compagne from Ulverstone who won the award with 17 votes.

Our sincere thanks go to those involved with the teams this year, especially the coaches. Thanks to Mark Leszczynski, Guilbert Steenhuis, John Large, Les Ware, and Bob Osuchowski, for their services this year.

We thank the player, parents and supporters for patronising our Junior Presentation Day on Sunday 3rd November at the Polish Club, and we would also like to see prompt booking for those intending to attend the Senior Presentation Night, to be held on the 9th of November at the Polish Club as well.Congratulations to those junior sides for their efforts and to the trophy winners.

Finally thanks to all those who contributed to this and previous issues of the TALON."