The Bulli and Woonona community is rallying together as the gruelling clean-up continues at Balls Paddock following Saturday morning's disaster.
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The Woonona venue - which is home to the Bulli Football Club and the adjacent Balls Paddock Children's Centre - was extensively damaged by the wild weather that lashed the region.
The majority of Bulli FC's home pitch was left underwater - and extensive damage was caused to the clubhouse and grandstands - while the school was also flooded.
It means that Bulli footballers have been left without a home and more than 100 families won't have access to their childcare centre.
More than 500 calls for help came through to the Illawarra State Emergency Service since the heavy rains hit, while the disaster has been described by Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery as on par with the 1998 floods in terms of the havoc it wrought.
Now, the community has been left to mop up the damage - including at Bulli FC's headquarters.
More than 100 club members and volunteers from across the Illawarra joined together at Balls Paddock on Saturday to assist with the clean-up.
A huge number of people returned to help out again on Sunday.
It's been an incredible display of community spirit, but Bulli FC president Dane Hamilton admits there is still a "lot of work ahead of us" as they work tirelessly to clean up the damage.
"We had a similar issue in 1998, but the volume of water that came in such a short period of time has hammered through and filled the ground - it's become a retention basin," Hamilton told the Mercury.
"The water came through the preschool as well. We have over 140 families serviced by the preschool, so the priority has been to get that dry.
"We were really fortunate to have a couple of businesses help us out to extract the water and we've sort of got that under control, but we're still getting the preschool free of all of the silt.
"From a shitty situation, we've had really good support from the football community. We've had people come out from other clubs to give us a hand with the clean up. It's been an excellent turnout. We've had so many current members of our club, families from the preschool and ex-players help out, and council has been excellent as well - as have the RFS.
"It's going to be a long process, but everyone's bonded together to get it done. It's heartening to get it done, but it's still a long road ahead I'd say."
Hamilton estimated that it could be a week before the children's centre would be re-opened to the public.
He found it much harder to predict a timeline for football returning to Balls Paddock.
"In terms of the ground, it's hard to tell at this stage - we need to get all of the water out first," he said.
"Basically, the water was at the top of the (goal post's) crossbar, so it was pretty high. We've probably got 30 centimetres of water laying on top of the surface now and we've got three pumps pumping it back into the drainage system, so it's going down quite quick. Once we get that done, we'll be able to assess the actual damage.
"Basically the water was at the top of the crossbar, so it was pretty freaking high. We've probably got 30 centimetres of water laying on top of the surface now and we've got three pumps pumping it out back into the drainage system. So it's going down pretty quick. Once we get that done, we'll be able to assess the actual damage.
"It's a shitty situation, but I think it's going to have a silver lining at the end of it. It's going to bring us all together."
Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
