Parramatta Eagles
Formed 1956
The Eagles were formed in 1956 as the Melita Eagles by
Maltese migrants after the amalgamation of 2 new Maltese clubs, the Malta Eagles
and the Melita Soccer Club. In 1962 they changed their name to Melita
Eagles-Newtown.
They competed in the NSW State Leagues until 1983 when
they competed for 1 year in the NSL before being relegated. However in 1990-91
they were given another chance and performed well until being relegated again in
1994-95, even after changing their name again to Parramatta Eagles.
Parramatta Eagles now compete in the NSW Super
League.
Background
Formed 1956
The Eagles were formed in 1956 as the Melita Eagles by Maltese migrants after
the amalgamation of 2 new Maltese clubs, the Malta Eagles and the Melita Soccer
Club. Melita Eagles have their origins in the Maltese community and stretch
back to the formation of the original NSW Federation of Soccer Clubs in 1957.
Along with higher profile clubs like Prague, Hakoah and APIA Leichhardt they
were party of the original breakaway movement which was the death of the old NSW
Soccer Football Association in January 1957.
Starting off in third grade in 1957 the Eagles progressed to second grade in
1962 adopting the name of Melita Eagles-Newtown and playing their home games at
Fraser Park, Sydenham. At the end of the 1966 season where they finished third
they played off for a spot in the first division with wooden spooners
Corinthians. Winning the match 3-0 they progressed for their first stint in the
top flight in 1967. Finishing in the bottom few clubs in '68 and '69 they were
relegated at the end of the 1970 season when they finished last. By the end of
1976 they were lucky to avoid relegation to third division again when they
finished last but with the establishment of the NSL they were given a reprieve
and stayed into second division.
A complete transformation occurred in 1977 when they finished minor premiers
of second division and were awarded promotion into the first division again for
the 1978 season. They finished third behind Croatia and Sutherland. Fifth
in 1979 saw the club win the minor premiership in 1980 by a whopping six
premiership points. They did this again in the 1983 season where they lost just
three games to finish in top spot. This was enough to earn Melita a crack at the
National Soccer League but sadly they finished 11th out of the 12 teams and were
again relegated to first division of the NSW State League.
After minor premiership wins in 1986 and 1989 the ASF deemed Melita ready for
another stint in the NSL. Although not one of the competitions glamour sides
Melita made two forays into the NSL finals with their best season being 5th in
1990/1. In the finals they bowed out to Marconi 3-4 on penalties. In 1992/3 they
again finished 6th and launched another assault on the semi-finals only to lose
2-4 on aggregate to the Wollongong Wolves. The changing of the clubs name to
Parramatta Eagles was in accordance with the wishes of the ASF to remove ethnic
origins from club names.
At the end of the 1994/5 Soccer Australia relegated the Parramatta Eagles
back to the NSW Super League competition. In 1996 they finished on top of the
second round table and played in the grand final against Adamstown Rosebud
and won the match 5-3 on penalties with the game locked 1-1 at full-time. In
1997 they won the minor premiership. They won the grand final 3 goals to 1
against Bonnyrigg White Eagles.
1998 was a poor year for the club finishing sixth.
The club has now returned as a new club in the Super League. The New club
name is PCYC Parramatta Eagles which played in the 2007 NSW
Super League.