Wolves moved into Wollongong Showgrounds as the WIN Stadium was called pre sponsorship. After an inauspicious start to life in the competition, the team was relegated to the NSW First Division at the end of the 1986 campaign.
Renamed Wollongong City, the side won promotion as champions at the first attempt. Back in the National Soccer League the club finished top of the table in 1988 before losing to Marconi Fairfield in the Preliminary Final.
A further name change was in force for the 1990-91 season in which Wollongong Macedonia finished bottom and returned to the NSW Division 1 from where they were once again champions at the first go to win promotion.
Back as Wollongong City the team reached the Finals in 1991-92 with a fifth place finish where they went out to Adelaide City in the Elimination and Qualifying stage as David Ratcliffe was adjudicated to be Coach of the Year.
Fourth place in 1991-92 led to another crack at the title where Wollongong fell to Adelaide City in the semi-finals. A few seasons in the lower reaches of the table ensued before the club changed titles to Wollongong Wolves in the summer of 1996.
Wolves reached the Finals in 1997-98 where Adelaide City were defeated but Marconi Fairfield proved too strong in the semi-final. However, there would be no mistake in the 1999-00 campaign after ending as runners-up in the final table.
Despite losing to Perth Glory in the semi-finals the system gave them a second bite of the cherry in the Preliminary Final where Carlton were beaten 2-1 to set up a Grand Final with Glory which attracted a gate of 43,242 to Subiaco Oval in Perth.
Wolves trailed 3-0 before goals from Scott Chipperfield, Matt Horsley and Paul Reid took the game to extra time and then penalties. Keeper Les Pogliacomi was the hero with two saves as the team coached by Nick Theodorakopoulos was crowned as national champions.
The title was backed up as Wolves won the 2001 Oceanic Club Championship thanks to a goal from Chipperfield to defeat Tafea of Vanuatu in Port Moresby. The 2000-01 season back home would continue the amazing run of form.
South Melbourne were defeated in both the semi-finals and then the Grand Final in a match played at Parramatta Stadium as Ron Corry managed the team. Horsley was man of the match in the 2-1 title win with the goals coming from the league top scorer Sasho Petrovski and Stuart Young.
Yet as soon as 2002-03 Wolves finished bottom of the table before ninth in the final season of the competition prior to the inauguration of the A-League. The club took up a place in the NSW Premier League for the 2005-06 season.
From 2007 the club was renamed Wollongong FC, playing at John Crehan Park and ending as league runners-up in 2008 to qualify for the finals series. Star defender Danial Cummins was in the line up that beat Sutherland Stallions in the semi-finals and Grand Final. Matt Bailey, Tynan Diaz, Chris Price and Samet Kaynak scoring in the 4-2 win.
However, the title was tainted as it was revealed that the club had run up AUD$240,000 of debts chasing the dream. They reformed as Wollongong Community Football Club in 2008, but changed to South Coast Wolves in November 2009.
Ilija Prenzoski provided the goals in the disappointing 2009 campaign which saw Tony Pace, Glen Fontana and Trevor Morgan all have spells as manager. In 2010 Mark Picciolini ended as top scorer as some matches returned to WIN Stadium.
In 2012 Wolves went out to Blacktown City in the Qualifying Finals after a fourth place finish, followed up by ending bottom of the table in 2013. Under the stewardship of Jacob Timpano the team qualified but went out in the Qualifying round of the final series to Sydney Olympic.
The club returned to their Wollongong Wolves title in 2016 playing matches at WIN Stadium and Albert Butler Memorial Park. Japanese international Yūzō Tashiro scored the goals in 2017 as Wolves finished in sixth position. Former international and club star Luke Wilkshire took over as head coach for the 2019 season.
Wolves walked away at the top of the league standings before suffering a nightmare in the finals series with defeats against APIA Leichhardt Tigers and then Sydney United 58 ended dreams of the title. The goals of Thomas James and Lachlan Scott were to prove in vain.
Wollongong Wolves FC will play in the National Premier League NSW Men's 1 in the 2020 season.
My visit
Wednesday 9th January 2007
I was in Australia for England’s Ashes tour of 2006-7, attending Test Matches in Melbourne and Sydney and with a few days remaining before I returned back to blighty. On my previous tour down under I was kindly looked after with Crusher by his cousin Paul and his wife Lianne with their kids Simone and Grant.
Again I returned, travelling down to Helensburgh station south of Sydney to spend a couple of days with them.
The following day was to be my last in the country and it was to be an all boys do, watching Grant play cricket, so on Wednesday 9th January 2007 we set out while Lianne was at work for a drive down the lovely coastline. We passed the Scarborough Hotel where we’d stopped off for lunch four years previously and continued down to Wollongong.
We travelled through the town to find the WIN Stadium, which was named in a sponsorship deal with the WIN Television Company. It was previously called the Wollongong Showground and Steelers Stadium. It had staged predominantly rugby league since its inauguration in 1911.Again I returned, travelling down to Helensburgh station south of Sydney to spend a couple of days with them.
The following day was to be my last in the country and it was to be an all boys do, watching Grant play cricket, so on Wednesday 9th January 2007 we set out while Lianne was at work for a drive down the lovely coastline. We passed the Scarborough Hotel where we’d stopped off for lunch four years previously and continued down to Wollongong.
The Illawarra Steelers, named because the of the nearby Port Kembla steelworks being the regions largest employee, played at the ground from their inception in 1982. They merged to form St George Illawarra Dragons in 1999 and up to 2010 they play half their home matches at the stadium, with the other half being played at the WIN Jubilee Oval in St George’s traditional heartland on the outskirts of Sydney at Kogarah.
The stadium was impressive. There was seated stands on three sides with the final side which backed onto Cliff Road and then the sea front was open grass banking. I’m sure it would be one of the better venues in the NSW Premier League.
The stadium was impressive. There was seated stands on three sides with the final side which backed onto Cliff Road and then the sea front was open grass banking. I’m sure it would be one of the better venues in the NSW Premier League.
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