| Full name | South Coast Wolves Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Wolves, South Coast, WCFC | ||
| Founded | 1980-2008 (as Wolves) 2009 (as WCFC) 2010- (as South Coast) |
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| Ground | John Crehan Park Wollongong, New South Wales (Capacity: 7,500) |
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| Chairman | Paul Myjavec | ||
| Manager | Trevor Morgan | ||
| League | NSW Premier League | ||
| 2011 | 7th (of 12) | ||
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| Current season | |||
The South Coast Wolves Football Club (formerly Wollongong Community Football Club and the Wollongong Wolves) is an Australian Association football club based in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia currently playing in the NSW Premier League.
The club was formed in 2009 as a not for profit organisation, run and owned by the community since the financial demise of the Wollongong Wolves.
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The Wollongong Wolves were founded in 1980 and competed in the National Soccer League from 1981 until its demise in 2004. The one exception to this was in 1987, when the Wolves competed in the second tier competition, the NSW First Division, where they were crowned both Premiers and Champions in that season. It would be the best part of two decades before the Wolves had success in the Grand Final of the NSL.
The Wolves first Grand Final win came in the 1999/2000 season, when the Wolves beat Perth Glory in a penalty shootout. Perth were up 3-0 at halftime, but goals from Scott Chipperfield, captain Matt Horsley and a last minute equaliser from Paul Reid put the game into extra time-Golden Goal. after no goals in extra time it went to penalties. Wollongong goalkeeper Les Pogliacomi was the hero saving vital penalties. The Wollongong Wolves won 7-6 on penalties.
The Wolves won their second NSL title in 2001. They beat South Melbourne 2-1 Stuart Young and Sasho Petrovski scored the goals.
After the demise of the former national competition, the National Soccer League (NSL), the Wolves moved onto the top state competition, the NSW Premier League. A memorable Grand Final win would be of the 2008 Premier League when the Wolves won the Championship to only be in financial debt later in the year.
After winning the 2008 NSW Premier League Championship, the club had showed many financial losses including A$240,000 in debts and losses of players and coaches. It was later announced that the current club would cease to exist and a new community organization would be formed which would ensure money problems would not plague the new club in the future.[1]
After a dismal 2009 season, the Wollongong Community Football Club requested a name change back to the former "Wolves" moniker, with the formal request being approved in November 2009.[2]
In 2010, the team adopted the name the South Coast Wolves.
Like many other teams from the region, the Wolves play in red and white. Their alternate jersey since adopting the South Coast name, uses yellow and blue, symbolic of the beach and the ocean, similar to national sides, Gold Coast United FC and Central Coast Mariners FC.
For most of the Wolves history, the team played out of Brandon Park, North Wollongong. The ground had a capacity of 15,000. The site however was demolished in 2003 to make way for the new Wollongong Innovation Campus for the University of Wollongong.[3] The Wolves have now settled on John Crehan Park in Cringila as their homeground. The ground has a capacity of 7,500 and to play games out of the 20,000 capacity stadium of WIN Stadium would not be economically viable for the club.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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South Coast Wolves NSW Premier League Squad
| Season | Division | P | W | D | L | Pts | Position | Finals Position | Topscorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000/01 | NSL | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 57 | 2nd | Champions | Sasho Petrovski (21) |
| 2001/02 | 24 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 25 | 10th | DNQ | Stuart Young (9) | |
| 2002/03 | 24 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 23 | 13th | DNQ | Stuart Young (9) | |
| 2003/04 | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 29 | 9th | DNQ | Chimaobi Nwaogazi (11) | |
| 2004/05 | NSWPL | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 12th | DNQ | Shane McGirr (18) |
| 2006 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 16 | 9th | DNQ | Adam Casey (6) | |
| 2007 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 22 | 7th | DNQ | Daniel Aliffi (12) | |
| 2008 | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 44 | 2nd | Champions | Ilija Prenzoki (12) | |
| 2009 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 5 | 12th | DNQ | Ilija Prenzoki (7) | |
| 2010 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 22 | 10th | DNQ | Mark Picciolini (10) | |
| 2011 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 30 | 7th | DNQ |
The Oceania Club title however, did not lead to them playing in the FIFA Club World Championship it had qualified them to play in, as FIFA had cancelled the World Club Championship due to financial reasons.
| Preceded by South Melbourne |
NSL Champions 1999/00-2000/01 |
Succeeded by Sydney Olympic |
| FIFA Oceania Club Championship 2000-01 Winners |
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Wollongong Wolves First title |
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