It's an extraordinary revival.
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A decade ago, the Wolves - at one point rebadged Wollongong Community Football Club - were like an unsightly panel van chocked up on bricks in the front yard.
In 2008, after they won their last championship, the club was on the verge of collapse.
"Wolves go public with plea for cash", the headline from a story by my late Mercury colleague Joel Ritchie read.
Now Luke Wilkshire has them purring, a Ferrari the same colour as their playing kit. But it struck this columnist on Friday just how much they've found their identity and their place in the community again.
Justin Pasfield touched on it during an interview before Sunday's clash with Blacktown City, where they can put the NSW National Premier League title race beyond doubt with a win.
Firstly, Pasfield jumped at the chance to pay tribute to loyal servants like Susan Gatt, tirelessly pulling the levers in the front office, particularly when the club's forecast was significantly gloomier than it is today. He singled out owner Tory Lavalle, who has put the foundations in place for the Wolves to stand on a premiership stage.
When Trevor Morgan, Richard Lloyd and more recently Jacob Timpano were coaching, the Wolves had been bouncing around training facilities, at times using portable goals and training sticks at Kooloobong Oval.
The Albert Butler Memorial Park project has transformed their training capabilities to make them a force in the league again.
Chris Papakosmas, who parted ways with the club during the ill-fated A-League bid, deserves credit.
So too the board direction, led by Chris Sheppard and Craig Osborne, who was pushing the cap-in-hand membership drive at the depths of their despair a decade ago. There have been thousands of words written, many by this column, about how the Wolves can return to the A-League, most likely through the creation of a national second division.
But for now, forget the A-League, celebrate the significance of the moment a title would bring. Timpano also deserves great praise, for carrying the torch during the extreme makeover and putting a public face on a club desperate to reclaim its former glory.
The club has credibility in the community again and rediscovered who they are.
It was clear in Pasfield's words.
"We are the biggest club in the Illawarra," he said.
"From the juniors, the Academy, all of our development programs, the Wolves are now able to ensure our best players stay here.
"And not only play in Wollongong, but also be successful. So if we can win a title, it's for everyone who has put the hard work in to get to this point."
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