Boroondara Eagles secured a first ever WPL Premiership following a 2-2 midweek draw against Senior NTC.
The triumph backs up a Team App Cup victory against Bulleen Lions, with just one achievement – a Championship – left to complete a season treble.
Driven by the likes of president Graeme Smith, technical director Manny Koutroulis, former coach Fil Simao and current manager Shaun Ontong, success in 2015 marks a rapid rise for the club, elevating itself from State League 3 to cream of the crop in the space of a few years.
“Now on the brink of the NPL, if you go back over five years, we’ve had three promotions in a row, made the finals in our first campaign in the WPL, and now we’ve won a League and Cup double,” Koutroulis said.
The coach that guided the club through the state leagues described the motivating tool used by Ontong to keep his players focused on achieving all that was in front of them.
“The treble’s still on, on the whiteboard at Lakeside Stadium Shaun Ontong put up three targets, and it’s been staring at the girls for weeks now,” he said.
“He put a big, bold big tick next to the Team App Cup, and this week he put a big tick next to the Premiership, and now he have one tick to go.
“It’s an ambitious target, but certainly we are on course to achieve it.”
With the influence to attract W-League players such as Amy Jackson and Alex Gummer, up-and-comers in Liv Ellis and Sky Jensen, along with internationals Taryne Boudreau and Sarah Jacobs, the club has had an exciting mix in 2015, with the benefit of squad depth to guide it through a clustered schedule to remain undefeated under Ontong.
Koutroulis identified the depth and morale within the squad as a key factor to the side’s Premiership victory and charge to the finals.
“I know they use the term ‘minor’ for this Premiership, but you take out a small handful of nations in world football and this is actually the big prize,” he said.
“It is like winning the marathon, it’s a test of mental and physical strength and depth, a test for the coaches and players on and off the field.
“We were happy to achieve that this week, it was not a good showing showing by our own admission [against NTC], but nevertheless a point’s enough to win it with two games to spare, which a quite exceptional record in itself.
“All girls are battling week in, week out, so to now get a week off is also another good bonus for us.”
Boroondara’s penultimate clash of the season comes against Box Hill United on Sunday at Knox.