Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Saturday evening I was fortunate to attend the 60th anniversary dinner of the South Eastern Rugby League Football Club, which plays in the South Sydney competition in the electorate of Kingston Smith. The club was founded in 1957 by William Ward. After William moved from Bondi to Matraville, the Seagulls were created as a combination of East Juniors and Souths Juniors, in deference to William's old team and his new home. The team proudly wears the Roosters' logo and South's colours. Since its establishment the club, based at Pioneers Park in Malabar, has grown from two sides to over 350 players in 2017, including the women's teams. It is now the second-biggest club in the local competition. Over the years the Seagulls have produced a number of outstanding players who have gone on to professional careers in the NRL and beyond. They include Willie Peters, Craig Wing, Braith Anasta, Todd Burn and many more.

The club has grown to be a local powerhouse and is currently sitting atop of the club championship. I wish to congratulate the club on reaching this important milestone and I thank all of the players, the mums and dads, the special volunteers who give their time week in, week out to ensure that the teams are on the field, who have made South Eastern the wonderful community club that it is today.