| Full name | Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Avala | ||
| Founded | 1968 | ||
| Ground | Bonnyrigg Sports Club,Bonnyrigg | ||
| Capacity | 10,000 | ||
| Chairman | unknown | ||
| Head Coach | Philip Pyliotis | ||
| League | NSW League One | ||
| 2025 | 15th of 16 (Relegated via playoff) | ||
| Website | bwefc | ||
Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC is an Australian semi-professionalsoccer club based inBonnyrigg,Sydney, New South Wales, currently playing in theNSW League One. The club was founded in 1968 asAvala Sports Club and took its current name in 1992.
Established bySerbian immigrants from theCabramatta area of south-west Sydney. Its most famous products are formerSoccerooMilan Blagojević, current SocceroosMiloš Degenek andDanny Vuković, as well as Young Socceroo and formerMelbourne Heart defenderDavid Vranković. Misha Radovic was Red Star player for 13 years and also Champion of Europe with Yugoslavia U19 in 1979.Aleksandar Janković was manager ofRed Star Belgrade twice. FormerBrisbane Roar defenderMilan Susak played a major role in Ange Postecoglou's Premiership and Championship winning side.
The club was originally known as Riverside Rapid and played in the Marickville area, before renaming as Riverside Avala and relocating to Lansvale in 1976. The following year they dropped the "Riverside" name and were promoted to the First Division of the NSW State League as Avala.
The club was established in 1968 as the Avala Sports Club, named after theAvala mountain in Serbia. In 1977, Avala was promoted to theNew South Wales Premier League and competed in the top level ofNew South Walessoccer until 1986.
After a two-year absence from the New South Wales Premier League which included aNew South Wales Winter Super League Premiership-Championship double in 1988, Avala's strong performances in the State Leagues and their strong crowd attendances didn't go unnoticed and they were offered the opportunity to be a part of the National Soccer League; however they declined due to poor administration within the Soccer Australia sector and the large financial burden it would place on the club, with many other clubs within the league at the time financially struggling. Avala returned to top flight action in 1989, undergoing a name change to Bonnyrigg White Eagles after the 1992 season, and remained in the Top Division until 2006.
After picking up both a premiership and championship over the next three seasons in the Super League, in 2009 Bonnyrigg was once again promoted to theNew South Wales Premier League, playing in the highest league in New South Wales. They quickly picked up more honours by claiming their 4th and 5th New South Wales Premier League Premierships and Club Championships in the2010 and2012 seasons respectively, also suffering grand final defeats in the2005,2010 and2012 seasons. They won the championship for a third time in the 2013 NSW Premier League season and for a fourth time in 2015.
Whilst competing in the NSW Premier League the club has claimed five Premierships and three Championships. Under Brian Brown the club has achieved three Premierships respectively in 2010, 2012 and 2014 alongside two Championships in 2013 defeating theRockdale City Suns at Penrith Stadium in front of over 8000 spectators thanks to a solitary goal from FormerAdelaide United StrikerRobbie Younis. The club continued their Championship winning feat in 2015 with a 2–0 victory of arch rivalsBlacktown City atLeichhardt Oval in-front of a crowd of 3000. The club also reached the 2010 and 2012 NSW Premier League Grand Finals but lost toBlacktown City andMarconi Stallions respectively.
In 2016, Bonnyrigg White Eagles qualified for theFFA Cup round of 32 after beating Parramatta FC in the final qualification round. This was Bonnyrigg's debut appearance in the final rounds of the Cup.
After an abysmal 2018 season for the club, the Bonnyrigg White Eagles were relegated and will now compete in the NSW NPL 2 competition in 2019.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles' home colours have been the traditional red shirt, blue shorts and white socks since the club's inception. The away kit has seen changes from year to year and is currently white shirt, blue shorts and blue socks.
Bonnyrigg's club badge consists and a crowneddouble-headed White Eagle with a soccer ball over aboomerang in its centre. The badge is similar in design to certain elements of theCoat of arms of Serbia. This is overlaid over a red-blue-white background which mirrors the club's main kit.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles play their home matches at Bonnyrigg Sports Club inBonnyrigg,Sydney,New South Wales,Australia.
The ground dates back to May 1966 when 7 acres (28,000 m2) of land was purchased for the building of a social club and soccer grounds. Over the years the grounds were improved when in 1986 it became the permanent home ground for Bonnyrigg.
In 2001, an additional 1.2 hectares of land was purchased as part of a plan to renovate the club and expand the training grounds. This was completed in October 2005.
Bonnyrigg has a fierce rivalry with the Croatian backedSydney United.[citation needed] The two clubs first met in the state leagues in the late 1970s with then Sydney Croatia dominating almost most of the games between the two clubs. Avala and Croatia met in the Ampol Cup Semi Final in 1977 in which Avala defeated Croatia one goal to nil. The last time the two clubs would meet would be in 1983 with Croatia being promoted to the National Soccer League and Avala remaining in the State leagues.
After the demise of the National Soccer League in 2005 the New South Wales Premier league was formed pitting arch rivals Bonnyrigg and Sydney United. The first game was played at the Sydney United Sports Centre in which Bonnyrigg won, the winner coming from a young Milorad Simonović
The second clash between United and Bonnyrigg was moved to Parramatta Stadium due to crowd violence. The Eagles took the game out four goals to one. Bonnyrigg was demoted to the Winter Super League due to fan violence and would not meet Sydney United again until 2009.
The club had a fierce rivalry with the Yugoslav backedSSC Yugal. This was mainly due to Avala being a Pro-Serbian club andSSC Yugal being a Pro-Yugoslav club. The games between the two clubs were at times met with fan violence.SSC Yugal folded in the early 1990s, ending the rivalry.
Blacktown and Bonnyrigg are long time rivals with the history of both teams dating back to the 1970s where they first met. Avala met Blacktown in the 1992 Grand Final which they took out two goals to nil. The clubs would meet again in the 1998 Grand Final in which the Demons would take out.
The games between the two have always been close and fierce. In the 2010 New South Wales Premier league season Bonnyrigg would be crowned premiers only to lose out to Blacktown in the Grand Final with a late winner from former Bonnyrigg player Tolgay Ozbey
Various other important rivalries over the years included matches againstMarconi Stallions FC,Bankstown City FC,FC Bossy Liverpool,Parramatta FC,Northern Tigers FC andCanberra FC.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles generally draws support from theSerbian diaspora, especially from the south-western suburbs of Sydney such as Bonnyrigg,Liverpool andCabramatta.
The "Avala Boys", is the name given to the actively vocal supporters group of the soccer club. After years, the Avala Boys have made their long-awaited return in 2025, bringing back the passion, loyalty, and raw energy that defined them. With flags waving and chants echoing through the stands, they’ve re-established their presence, standing tall as the heartbeat of their club. Notable appearances include: SD Raiders vs Bonnyrigg 22/3/25
The following Bonnyrigg White Eagles players and coaches have also represented their country at international level.
Australia
Agenor MunizMilan BlagojevićRod BrownDoug UtjesenovicGreg BrownMilos DegenekBobby DespotovskiGary van EgmondPaul FosterCraig FosterMike GibsonTony HendersonStan AckerleyMarshall SoperWarren SpinkRobert WheatleyGreg WoodhouseDanny VukovicYugoslavia
Guinea
Lebanon
Liberia
Malaysia
Mozambique
New Zealand
Northern Ireland
Peru
Philippines
Serbia
Indonesia
Bonnyrigg's most notable achievements include;
Bonnyrigg's most successful year in their history came about in the 1992 season, a year their fans will never forget. A squad mixed with youth and experience, and ably led by coachMike Johnson, won the Minor Premiership, the NSW Premier League Grand Final as well as the NSW Waratah Cup.
The2004–05 season was marred by controversy whenSerbian fans of Bonnyrigg andCroatian fans of neighbouring clubSydney United engaged in riots. At the height of tensions gunshots were fired at the Bonnyrigg Sports Club and a car was fire bombed at Sydney United's King Tomislav Croatian Club at Edensor Park.[1] The result was that theFootball NSW had directed that all future games between the clubs must be held at a neutral venue.
Bonnyrigg lost 3–1 toBankstown City Lions in the 2004–05 NSW Premier League grand final.
Despite finishing Grand Finalists in 2004–05 and claiming the club championship, Bonnyrigg were not offered a position in the2006 NSW Premier League season. The club's appeal of this decision failed and they competed in the Winter Super League for the next three seasons until promoted back to the highest level of competition in NSW for the 2009 season.
