The Western Reds were a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

football club based in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia. Founded in 1992 as the Western Reds, they entered into the

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...

competition in 1995 before defecting to the rival

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of w ...

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 shut down. The name Reds was named after the native Red Kangaroos. The Reds entered a state of limbo for the next decade but were revived as a lower-level club in 2006 by the WARL and ARL, under the name WA Reds.

History

Western Reds (1992–1996)

The Reds had recruited well in 1993–94, and signed

Peter Mulholland Peter Mulholland ( 1953 – 16 December 2021) was an Australian rugby league football coach. He coached ARL premiership expansion club Western Reds in their first two seasons before moving to France to take up the coaching position of Super Le ...

as their first coach. St. George fullback Michael Potter (twice winner of the

Dally M Award The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the b ...

), 1992 Rookie of year and CLEO bachelor of the year Matthew Rodwell, and Australian and NSW rep player Brad Mackay were three of the major signings. Their first game, played at the WACA, was watched by a record 24,392, with the Reds defeating

St George Saint George ( Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

28–16. When

News Limited News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of the American News Corp. One of Australia's largest media conglomerates, News Corp Australia employs more than 8,000 staff nationwide and approximately 3,00 ...

began its "blitzkrieg" in April 1995, the Reds aligned themselves with

along with nine other

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 identity and decorated WAFL and

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football L ...

(

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

) player

Adrian Barich Adrian Williams Barich (born 5 December 1963) is a sports presenter for television and radio, and a former Australian rules footballer for the West Coast Eagles and Perth Demons and rugby league player. Early life Barich grew up in Canberra, ...

. Barich, having grown up in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

reverted from

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

to rugby league, finishing his career with seasons with the Reds, however he never played in first grade. After declaring that the club may not have the financial resources to compete in the

1996 ARL Optus Cup The 1996 ARL premiership (also known as the 1996 Optus Cup due to sponsorship from Optus) was the 89th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be administered by the Australian Rugby League (ARL). Twenty team ...

, 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.

Perth Reds (1997)

In 1997 the Reds became one of eight ARL teams to join the rival

during the dispute known as the Super League war. They changed their name to the Perth City 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 Rodney Howe (born 31 January 1973) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played in the forwards for the Newcastle Knights, Western Reds, Melbourne Storm, New South Wales and for the Australian n ...

and

Robbie Kearns Robbie Kearns (born 12 December 1971) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, and 2000s. An Australia international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he played for the Cro ...

, 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 1 October 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 8 May 1999,

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

played

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...

Lathlain Park Lathlain Park (also known as Mineral Resources Park under ground sponsorship arrangements) is an Australian rules football ground, located in Lathlain, an inner-eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Since its opening in 1959, it has bee ...

in Perth, with Melbourne running out winners 62–6. In 2005, Cronulla Sharks took their home game against the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

to Perth Oval, and played in front of around 13,000 spectators.

WA Reds (2006–2011)

The WARL resurrected the Reds in 2006 with the intent of joining the National Rugby League in the future. In 2008 the Reds joined the Jim Beam Cup and played out of Perth Oval. In the 2009 Bundaberg Red Cup the Reds were winless until the back-end of the season when they won 3 of their 4 last games, giving them something to build on for the next season.

Darwin Rugby League The Darwin Rugby League is a former rugby league competition based in Darwin, Northern Territory. The competition is administered by the Northern Territory Rugby League which is the body that takes care of the league's affairs. It administered the ...

product Aaron Barnes was named the Reds' player of the year. Unfortunately for financial reasons the Reds snr team was withdrawn from the Bundy Cup for 2010. In 2010 the WA Reds entered an Under 18's team in the

S. G. Ball Cup The S. G. Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played predominantly in New South Wales, between teams made up of players aged under 19. Teams from Canberra and Melbourne (Victoria Thunderbolts) also participate. Prior to the C ...

competition. The first trial game on 30 January 2010 was against the runners-up of the

Western Australia Rugby League NRL Western Australia (abbreviated as NRLWA, and formerly the Western Australian Rugby League) is responsible for administering the game of rugby league football in the state of Western Australia. The NRLWA administers all forms of the game in ...

competition the Central Bulldogs – they won 38–20. The WARL have set up two junior academies to help develop players for a return to the NRL with the SG Ball side providing a staging ground for player development. The WA Reds juniors won their first SG Ball game beating the Balmain Tigers at ME Stadium 28–8. Whilst the team found it tough going against often bigger and more experienced sides they did claim a couple of scalps and at the end of the season Curtis Rona was signed by the Sydney Roosters, earning a call up to the under 20s side during 2010. A new bid logo was launched in 2010 and membership for fans was made available. NRL CEO David Gallop recognised the WA Reds 2013 bid on a number of occasions, speaking positively about the potential for a Perth team in the NRL, but as of now, no such offer has become official.

West Coast Pirates (2012-)

In 2012 the WARL launched the West Coast Pirates as the Perth bid team for an NRL licence. As of 2012 West Coast competes in the SG Ball Cup instead of the WA Reds.

Players

;1995 U/21 Reds : Jade Koteka : David Hignett : Loa Tupou : Paul Muller : Darren Mullholland : Duncan Arkley : Will Bramwell : Ward Denman : Matt Geyer : Andrew Lippiat : Chris Scarisbrick : Leon Ruri : Aaron Ritchie : Nick Twiddle : David Huber : Shaun Owen : Brock McDonald : Myles Ritchie : Wayne Blazey : Brett Hyland : Brian McCarthey : Graeme Shield : Jarred Millar : Chris Lott : Jason Edmunds (Captain) : Tony Hemana : Byron Hutton : Ryan Gundry : Adam Beard : Dwayne Evans : Daniel Cross : Michael Jackson : Dane Dorahy : Ryan Dissegna : Sean Edmunds ;1st Grade : Mark Anderson : Simon Kricheldorff :

Mark Geyer Mark Bradley Geyer (born 7 December 1967) is an Australian radio host and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative se ...

Matt Geyer Matt Geyer (born 5 September 1975) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. A New South Wales State of Origin representative , he played his club football primarily with the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League comp ...

: Brad Mackay :

Barrie-Jon Mather Barrie-Jon Mather (born 15 January 1973) is an English former rugby league and rugby union player. A dual-code international player, he was the first Great Britain rugby league player to be capped by England at rugby union. He was the NSW ...

Simon Robbie Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

: Scott Wilson : David Dowell :

Shayne McMenemy Shayne McMenemy (born 19 July 1975) is a former Ireland international rugby league footballer who played as a back rower in the 1990s and 2000s. He played club football in Australia for the Western Suburbs Magpies and WA Reds, and in England f ...

: Danny Davies

WA Reds (2006–2011)

Liam Mulhall Liam is a short form of the Irish name Uilliam or the old Germanic name William. Etymology The original name was a merging of two Old German elements: ''willa'' ("will" or "resolution"); and ''helma'' ("helmet"). The juxtaposition of these elem ...

Savi Hafoka Savi is a town in Benin that was the capital of the Kingdom of Whydah prior to its capture by the forces of Dahomey in 1727. An account of the city was given by Robert Norris in 1789: There were British, French, Dutch and Portuguese factorie ...

: Pikari Te Wara : Clae Morgan :

Heath Egglestone A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

: Ryan Dickson :

Matt Doeg Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

: James Blake : Issac Thomas : John Phipps : James McGowan :

Delane Edwards Delane may refer to: *DeLane Fitzgerald, American football coach in the United States * DeLane Matthews (born 1961), American actress *Dennis Delane Dennis Delane (died April 1750) was an Irish stage actor who appeared for many years at the lead ...

: Taurean Sheehan : Joel Freeman :

Gareth Morton Gareth Morton () is a Scottish former professional rugby league footballer. He last played for the WA Reds in the 2009 Bundaberg Red Cup rugby league competition in Australia. He has previously played for the Leeds Rhinos, Hull Kingston Rovers ...

: Aaron Barnes :

Nathan Searle Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible *Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David and ...

Carlin Miller Carlin may refer to: People * Carlin (name), including a list of people with the name Places * 4121 Carlin, a main belt asteroid * Carlin, Nevada, United States * Carlin How, a village in northern England, UK * Carlin Precinct, Calhoun County, I ...

: Michael Elphick :

Ben McCrone Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...

Frank Matthewman Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang C ...

;Recent and current NRL WARL-produced players :

Bryson Goodwin Bryson Goodwin (born 30 December 1985) is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who last played as a goal-kicking or er for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League. He previously played for the Canterbu ...

(

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are one of nine existing tea ...

) :

Bronx Goodwin Bronx Goodwin (born 5 November 1984) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a er or . He was head coach of the St. George Illawarra Dragons NSW Cup team for 2023. Background He is the son of Australian former Internati ...

( St. George Illawarra Dragons) :

Cory Paterson Cory Paterson (born 14 July 1987) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a forward. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights, North Queensland Cowboys and the Wests Tigers in the NRL and Hull Kingston Rovers ...

(

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

) :

Jon Green Jon Green (born 16 July 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. Early life Green was born in Southport, Queensland, Australia. Green lived in Perth and played junior footy for South Perth Lions in the Western Au ...

( St. George Illawarra Dragons) : Daniel Holdsworth (

Salford City Reds The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play in the Super League. Formed in 1873, they have won six Championships and one Challenge Cup. Their home ground since 2012 has been the ...

) :

Matt Petersen Matthew Andrew Petersen (born 27 March 1980) is a former United States international rugby league footballer who played for the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in the Super League. He also played for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL. His position o ...

( Wakefield Trinity Wildcats) :

Lee Te Maari Lee Te Maari (born 28 July 1985) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s for St George, Canterbury-Bankstown and Parramatta. Te Maari primarily played in the second row. Early life Te Maari played hi ...

(

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

) :

Curtis Rona Curtis Rona (born 26 May 1992) is a former Australian international rugby union footballer who recently played for London Irish in the English Premiership. He now plays for Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Sagamihara Dynaboars. He has previously pl ...

(

Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilit ...

) :

Waqa Blake Waqa Blake (born 26 October 1994) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL and Fiji at international level. He previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby Lea ...

(

)

Internationals

(1997) : Julian O'Neill (1997) :

(1997) :

(2007) :

Halvor Harris Halvor is a name of Norwegian origin. It is a contemporary form of Halvard (Hallvard). From Old Norse hallr (“flat stone”) and vorðr (“guardian”). People First name * Halvor Birch (born 1885), Danish gymnast * Halvor Birkeland (bor ...

(2015) : Bradley Williams (2015)

Coaches

* John Dorahy (U/21 1995) *

(1995–96) *

Dean Lance Dean Lance (born 4 April 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach, and current football manager at the North Queensland Cowboys of the NRL. He played in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership ...

(1997)

Club records

Biggest Win * 28 points, 34–6 against

at Perth Oval on 23 March 1997. Biggest Loss *42 points, 0–42 against Sydney Bulldogs at

Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure ...

on 9 April 1995. Most Consecutive Wins * 2 matches, 1–8 July 1995 * 2 matches, 21–28 July 1995 * 2 matches, 12–18 August 1995 * 2 matches, 14–20 July 1996 * 2 matches, 23–27 March 1997 Most Consecutive Loses * 9 matches, 13 April – 23 June 1996 Most First Grade Matches * 59 – Matthew "Matt" Fuller (1995–97) Most First Grade Points * 210 –

Chris Ryan Colin Armstrong (born 1961), usually known by the pseudonym and pen-name of Chris Ryan, is an author, television presenter, security consultant and former Special Air Service sergeant. After the publication of fellow patrol member Andy McNa ...

(21 tries, 63 goals) Most First Grade Tries * 21 –

Most Points in a Season * 136 –

(9 tries, 50 goals) Most Tries in a Season * 10 – Matthew "Matt" 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 Damien Chapman (born 6 March 1974) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s. Originally a schoolboy from St. Gregory's Campbelltown, Damien Chapman played for the St. George Dragons and the Western Reds in the A ...

(v Penrith, 1997)

References

*The History of Rugby League Clubs. By Ian Collis and Alan Whiticker. *Super League: The Inside Story. By Mike Colman.

External links

Western Australian Rugby LeagueWA Reds
*The Official NRL 2003 Season Guide *
Round 3V Bulls
*
WA Reds Squad 09
{{DEFAULTSORT:WA Reds 1992 establishments in Australia 1997 disestablishments in Australia Defunct rugby league teams in Australia Rugby clubs established in 1992 Rugby league teams in Western Australia Sporting clubs in Perth, Western Australia Sports clubs disestablished in 1997 Western Reds

History

Western Reds (1992–1996)

Perth Reds (1997)

Hiatus (1998–2005)

WA Reds (2006–2011)

West Coast Pirates (2012-)

Players

WA Reds (2006–2011)

Internationals

Coaches

Club records

See also

References

External links