WA Reds

Infobox rugby league club
clubname = WA Reds


fullname = Western Australia Reds Rugby League Club
nickname = The WAR
short name = WA Reds
founded = 1992 (first season - 1995)
exited =
ground = Members Equity Stadium
capacity = 17,288
ceo =
coach =
captain =
league = Jim Beam Cup
season =
position =
c

mostc
Matthew Fuller
points = 882
mostpoints = Chris Ryan
premierships = 0
premiershipyears =
minorpremierships = 0
minorpremiershipyears =
runnerups = 0
runnerupyears =
spoons = 0
homejersey = Western Reds home jersey 1997.svgThe WA Reds is a professional rugby league team from Perth, Australia. Founded in 1992 as the Western Reds, they were one of four Australian Rugby League expansion teams for the 1995 season. They competed in the 1995 and 1996 seasons of the ARL before defecting to the rival Super League competition in 1997, where they rebranded themselves as the Perth Reds. However by the end of the year the Reds had become a casualty of the Super League War peace deal and were shutdown. The Reds entered a state of limbo for the next decade but were revived in 2006 by the WARL and ARL as the WA Reds. They currently play in the Jim Beam Cup.

History

Before the Reds

Although touring Great Britain and French Rugby League teams had played tour matches in Perth, it was not until the late 1980s that the New South Wales Rugby League played games there. In August 1989, the NSWRL played the first game outside New South Wales or Queensland, with a crowd of 21,992 watching Canberra play Canterbury at the WACA.

Subsequent fixtures between 1990 and 1993 were equally well supported, and the League realised that a Perth team could be successful. Perth's application for the Winfield Cup was accepted on 30 November, 1992, along with the South Queensland Crushers, the North Queensland Cowboys and the Auckland Warriors. The early tip for the nickname of the Perth side was Pumas, but the Red Kangaroo, Western Australia's best-known native animal, was chosen and the team became known as the Western Reds, with the colours of Red, Black, Yellow and White.

The Western Reds (1992-1996)

The Reds had recruited well in 1993-94, and signed Peter Mulholland as their first coach. St George fullback Michael Potter, twice winner of the Dally M, and 1992 Rookie of year Matthew Rodwell were two of the major signings.

Their first game, played at the WACA, was watched by a record 24,392, with the Reds defeating St George 28-16. When News Limited began its "blitzkrieg" in April 1995, the Reds aligned themselves with Super League along with nine other Australian Rugby League clubs. That season the Reds were the best performing of the three expansion teams introduced, winning 11 of their 22 games, including 8 at home, which drew an average crowd of around 13,000, larger than that of many Sydney teams.

The Reds even recruited local hero and decorated WAFL and West Coast Eagles (AFL) player Adrian Barich. Barich, having grown up in Canberra reverted from Australian rules football to rugby league, finishing his career with seasons with the Reds, however he never played in first grade. [http://westcoasteagles.com.au/default.asp?pg=players&spg=playerprofile&personid=348473] .

After declaring that the club may not have the financial resources to compete in the 1996 ARL Optus Cup, a major sponsorship with the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sunday Times gave the club some much needed money. By mid 1996 club support had dwindled to just over 6,000.

The Perth Reds (1997)

The Western Reds changed their name to the Perth Reds for the 1997 Super League season, and adopted a jersey of Red, White and Black. Although the club had made some promising signings, such as Rodney Howe and Robbie Kearns, the crushing $10 million debt that hung over the club (from having to pay the airfares for all visiting teams) at the end of the season led to Super League axing the Perth Reds on October 1, 1997.

Hiatus (1998-2005)

Rugby league has continued to be played in Western Australia since the Reds left the top-flight competition with the Swan Brewery Cup continuing and NRL matches being staged at various times since 1998. On May 8, 1999, Melbourne Storm played Western Suburbs Magpies at Lathlain Oval in Perth, with Melbourne running out winners 62-6. In 2005, Cronulla Sharks took their home game against the New Zealand Warriors to the Members Equity Stadium in Perth, and played in front of around 13,000 spectators.

The WA Reds (2006-)

The WARL rebirthed the Reds in 2006 with the intent of joining the National Rugby League in 2011. In 2008 the Reds joined the Jim Beam Cup and played out of Members Equity Stadium.

The club has been provided with the opportunity to progress through the competitions below the NRL with a planned promotion to the Queensland Cup in 2010 and final promotion to the NRL currently planned for 2011 - 2012. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20070222065849/http://www.warugbyleague.com.au/content/wateam1/] WA Wins Bid for National Team: The Journey to the NRL Begins, "WA Rugby League", Retrieved on 15 December 2006]

South Sydney have announced they will play their home game against Melbourne in Perth in 2009. [http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,24359171-5012663,00.html] This decision came amidst growing speculation that Souths, amongst other Sydney based clubs would have to consider relocation options in order to secure their long term futures in the NRL.

Notable players

flagicon|AUS Rodney Howe
flagicon|AUS Mark Geyer
flagicon|AUS Matt Geyer
flagicon|AUS Robbie Kearns
flagicon|AUS Julian O'Neill
flagicon|AUS Brad Mackay
flagicon|AUS Simon Robbie
flagicon|AUS Mark Anderson
flagicon|AUS Scott Wilson
flagicon|ENG Barrie-Jon Mather

Club Records

Coaches

* Peter Mulholland (1995-96)
* Dean Lance (1997)

Most First Grade Matches

* 59 - Matthew Fuller (1995-97)
* 60 - Dave Dowell (1988-1991)

Most First Grade Points

* 210 - Ryan Chris (21 tries, 63 goals)

Most First Grade Tries

* 21 - Chris Ryan
* 20 - Nathan Short

Most Points in a Season

* 136 - Chris Ryan (9 tries, 50 goals)

Most Tries in a Season

* 10 - Matthew Fuller (1995)

Most Points in a Match

* 26 - Julian O'Neill (4 tries, 5 goals. v Canterbury, 1997)

Most Tries in a Match

* 4 - Julian O'Neill (v Canterbury, 1997)

Most Goals in a Match

* 6 - Julian O'Neill (v Auckland, 1996)
* 6 - Damien Chapman (v Penrith, 1997)

Internationals

Australia (Super League)

* Rodney Howe (1997)
* Julian O'Neill (1997)

ee also

*National Rugby League
*Western Australia Rugby League
*

ources/References

* [http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/36411/20030708/members.iinet.net.au/_apollo/reds/index.html Archived Official Perth Reds Website]
* [http://www.rl1908.com/Clubs/Western-Reds-Perth.htm RL1908's Western Reds Page]
*The History of Rugby League Clubs. By Ian Collis and Alan Whiticker.
*Super League: The Inside Story. By Mike Colman.
*The Official NRL 2003 Season Guide
* [http://www.warugbyleague.com.au/ Western Australian Rugby League]
* [http://www.waredsrugbyleague.com.au/ Official WA Reds homepage]

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.waredsrugbyleague.com.au Official WA Reds Website]