Bonnyrigg half way to grand prize after Premiership victory

But on Sunday that dream became a reality.
The club celebrated its first premiership in 10 years with an inspiring 5-1 win against West Sydney in front of a vocal crowd at Bonnyrigg Sports Club.
When Brian Brown was appointed as coach mid way through 2009, the club demanded one thing ? results.
?There were three things we had in mind when we got here,? Brown said.
?One was to get players who were hungry and the second part was to get them fit.
?The third part was to go and win something, and we?re half way there.?
A huge off-season in the player market saw the likes of Shane Webb, Daniel Severino, Brad Boardman and Jamie McMaster join a club that wasn?t prepared to settle for anything short of a championship.
The star-studded team failed to live up to expectation in the preseason and as a result the knockers and doubters came out in force.
?There was a little bit of panic going on around the club in the preseason because we didn?t win games,? Brown said.
?But I could see things were developing.?
And develop they did, as the White Eagles went on to win 13 of their next 22 games to claim the premiership by five points ahead of Blacktown City.
The club lost the likes of Vuko Tomasevic along the way, but they developed young superstars like David Gullo and welcomed A-League players Nathan Elasi and Chris Tadrosse to the club.
Like those who joined the White Eagles in the off-season, they too took very little time to settle into Brown?s plans.
?The type of players we got gelled together pretty quickly,? Brown said.
?I think we brought in the right players at the right time.?
Captain Paul Cotte was instrumental at the back and was one of the reasons why Bonnyrigg ended the regular season as the best defensive team in the competition, conceding just 20 goals.
At the other end, Brad Boardman and Severino did their part to ensure the White Eagles would be crowned the best attacking team, playing a large role in the side?s 45 goals.
Despite leading the Premier League for the most part of the season, it took until round 18 for Brown to realise his team was the real deal.
?We played Marconi, Blacktown, Sydney United and Sutherland in the space of five weeks,? he said.
?To come through that and win every game, I knew we were going to be hard to stop.?
The White Eagles lost just three games during the season and will come up against some quality opposition in the coming weeks, but Brown believes the biggest obstacle is a mental battle.
?I really think our biggest threat is ourselves,? he said
?If we turn up on the day I think we?re a big chance.
?But it?s about turning up with the right mindset.?
– By Michael Chammas