As the Queensland AFL clubs sit second and third on the AFL season an unheralded club on the Sunshine Coast has emerged as a growing source of prime young talent and a place for Lions draftees Sam Marshall and Ty Gallop to call ‘home’.
The Kawana Park Eagles is the original footballing home of Lions draftees Sam Marshall, who made his AFL debut last week, and Ty Gallop, who is knocking on the door of senior selection.
And while Marshall and Gallop will be in Melbourne on Saturday ahead of the Lions’ VFL clash with Sandringham and the AFL clash with St.Kilda, local focus will be on Meridan Sports Complex on Friday night.
The home of the Eagles, located on Red Cedar Drive at Meridan Plains, will host the club’s first senior outing against local rivals Caloundra on Friday night, Anzac Day.
It will be a monumental occasion in the journey of a one-time tiny junior club that claims not just Marshall and Gallop, North Melbourne AFLW premiership star and games record-holder Tahlia Randall, and Lions Academy graduate Kiara Hillier, now at the Sydney Swans.
Lions AFL premiership key forward Eric Hipwood also spent some time at Kawana but was more a Caloundra boy.
Formed as a junior club of 2001 ahead of their entry to the Sunshine Coast Junior League in 2002, Kawana Park was originally known as the Chancellor Park Eagles and based at the Chancellor Park State School.
Wearing the blue, white and yellow of the West Coast Eagles and now the second-biggest club on the Sunshine Coast, they moved to the University of the Sunshine Coast in 2004-05, and from 2006 were based at Kawana State College, prompting a name change in 2009 to the Kawana Park Eagles.
In 2020 they moved to the Meridan Sports Complex, which is now ‘home’ to 15 boys and girls teams from Under 8’s through to the seniors, coached by Allan Golding, a local stalwart who coached Marshall and Gallop in their junior days.
The complex has two full-size AFL ovals, including LED lighting and excellent drainage, plus a modern clubhouse, four change rooms, a canteen, coach's lock up, equipment shed and a first-aid room.
South-east Queensland football stalwart Peter Phelan and long-time AFLQ and Brisbane Lions staff member Luke Curran are credited with starting the club in the history section of the club website, with Phelan the inaugural president.
Subsequent presidents have been Sally Aloe (2004-05), Paul Meehan (2006-12), David Moles (2013-15), Mark Vagg (2016-18), Adam McKenzie (2019-21) and Adam Jones (2022-23). And since 2024 president Brett Wightman has headed an executive which now includes vice-president Sonny Davies, treasurer Nikki Marsh and secretary Kate Evans.
“We turned on the lights on the second field for the first time last week which was very exciting, and we’re looking forward to welcoming a lot of past players and people back for our first senior game this week,” said secretary Kate.
“We’re very proud of what we have built – it’s a credit to all the people who have put their hands up to help over the years. And to see a couple of young boys new to the Lions this year is very exciting.”
And while the Marshall family is no longer actively involved at Kawana Park, Gallop’s older brother Bae is a playing assistant-coach of the seniors, and younger brother James plays in the Under-11s.
Submitted by Peter Blucher