Our Story
Over four decades of football, family, and community.
The Doonside Hawks Story
The Doonside Hawks Soccer Club was started back in 1981. The club has grown from humble beginnings when our home ground was Charlie Bali Reserve (formally Kareela Reserve). The club eventually moved to Glendenning Reserve, doubling its size to 2 full fields and 3 mini fields.
This is our story.
The Foundation
The first get together to form a club occurred in October 1980 at the Doonside Community Centre. It was attended by Brian Picket, Steve Lindsay, Fred Sammut, Margaret McColl, Brian Ross, and John Xuereb as an adviser.
Discussion centred around gathering funds to start the club. A vital donation of $300 was made by the ruling Sports and Recreation Club (which included the local Cricket and Athletics clubs). Next was selecting the core identity: maroon and white were chosen as the club colours, initially operating under the name Doonside Sports and Recreation Soccer Club.
The newly formed committee immediately applied and registered to join the Blacktown Association.
Inaugural Committee
Other members joined soon after to establish the club's administration.
Inaugural Sponsors
Brian Pickett sponsored the club directly and secured critical early backing to fund the initial operations:
- Palmers Auto Electrical
- EdRoy Mower Service
- Phil McColl
Against the Odds: The First Season
The original home ground was slated to be Kareela West Reserve (now Charlie Bali Reserve), but because the ground would not be ready for the start of the 1981 season, home games were temporarily played at the Mt Druit Sports Centre.
There was significant criticism about starting a soccer club in Doonside, heavily seen as a Rugby League dominated area. The committee pushed on regardless, holding its first Registration Day on the first Saturday in February 1981 at the Doonside Shops on Hillend Road.
By the end of February, the club had stunned expectations—registering enough players to form 7 teams spanning U6 to U13. A massive surprise for the region, especially considering that in those days, U6 to U11 played full field with 11 players plus reserves, not the small-sided games of today. The influx certainly ruffled a few feathers around the district.
Playing shirts were purchased by the club to unify the teams, whilst the playing shorts were hand-made by dedicated volunteers to save money.
The Class of '81: Original Teams
The inaugural coaches guiding the first generation of Hawks included S. Ives, E. Doboze, I. Crawford, Ron James, B. Horwood, and Fred Sammut.
Under 6
- M Sammut, M Duffy
- G Ives, A Boyd
- N Attard, C Moore*
- A Dobosz, M Markovic
- S Castle, B Heller
- P Cartwright, R Hickson
- T James
Under 7
- B Russell, A Hooker
- S Morgan, D Crawford
- G Miggins, G Croft
- S Morohan, S Burns
- L Dobosz, D Sanders
- S Bedrossien, W Mendes
- D McKinder, D Rowe
Under 8
- A Suffling, W Oakley
- G Johnston, B Grey
- S Randal, S Ross
- A Martin, N Mashall
- J Hickson, A Woods
- M Pickett, S Skeen
Under 9
- A Attard*, C Boyd
- C Hodge, B Jenkins
- B Marshal, D Miggins
- T Moore, C Russell
- M Will, P Vella
- S Perrie
Under 10
- S Zoraja, C Smith
- D Thomas, A James
- T Bond, S Burnett
- P Harris, S Morgan
- T Beecroft
Under 11
- W McDowell, C Turczak
- G Russell, D Davies
- J Worthey, G Parks
- I Zoraja, D Pickett
- B Strahorn, J Ross
- H Oakley, P Bedrossien
- M Baker, B McDowell
Under 13
- D McColl, W Harrison
- J Attard, M Bedrossen
- J Martin, D Riminic
- M Johnston, A Buckley
- G Zivinavic, W Hoffnan
- W Rattray, J Tabone
- D Scutts, S Dodd
Notable Alumni
A Attard
The very first player from Doonside Hawks to be selected and play for a Representative team.
Starting in our inaugural Under 6 team, Moore went on to make over 50 appearances for the Australia national team, including at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups in Germany and South Africa. Having made his debut in 1995, he has been Australian team captain a number of times.
#ProudToBeAHawk
The best chapters of the Hawks story are still being written. We invite you to be part of them.
Join the Hawks in 2026 →