NRL Western Australia

Formed in April 1948 as the Western Australian Amateur Rugby Football League, foundation clubs were Cottesloe, Fremantle, Perth and South Perth.[1]

The first interstate match played by Western Australians was against the South Australia in 1948, with WA winning the series 2–0.

In 1969 Darwin City invited the WARL to Darwin to play a match in celebration of Darwin's 100th founding anniversary in which WA won 23–19. In 1976 WA was invited to participate in the nationwide Amco Cup, where they defeated the Northern Territory 23–18.[1]

On 2 October 1982 to begin the 1982 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, Western Australia played the Wally Lewis captained Australian Kangaroos in a match at the Cannington Raceway in Perth (on the same day the Australian test team played their first ever test match against Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby). Predictably the Kangaroos defeated WA 57–5, running in 13 tries to 1 with Parramatta Eels winger Eric Grothe, Sr. crossing for 4 tries.[3] The Australian team that day included players who would go on to be mainstays in the Australian test team over the next 5–10 years including Lewis, Grothe, Gene Miles, Steve Mortimer, Greg Conescu and Wayne Pearce as well as test veterans Rod Morris and Les Boyd.

NT toured again in 1981, 1983 & 1985 and since 2001 Western Australia has competed annually in the Affiliated States Championship, winning the most titles of any state.[1]

WARL's logo until 2012

The first tour game by an interstate club was in 1949 when Balmain Tigers, NSWRL, traveled to Perth. The first tour match by a club affiliated with the Queensland Rugby League was in 1985 when the Qld Country side played a match against the WA State Team. Further interstate club matches occurred in (see list above)

Following the demise of the Western Reds professional rugby league was lost to WA. The next match occurred in 1999 when the Western Suburbs Magpies hosted the Melbourne Storm in an NRL premiership match. Further premiership matches followed in 2005 when Cronulla Sharks hosted the New Zealand Warriors,[1] and in July 2013 when the South Sydney Rabbitohs hosted the New Zealand Warriors at NIB Stadium

Trial matches have also been played, with South Sydney Rabbitohs hosting Canterbury Bulldogs in the 2005 pre-season.[1]

The staging of New South Wales Rugby League premiership matches in the late 1980s and early 1990s led to a push for a Perth-based entry into the Australian Rugby League competition. In 1992 the Western Reds club was accepted into the national competition and would play its first season in 1995. The Reds would play in 1996 and in the Australian Super League in 1997 under the Perth Reds moniker.

Debt, issues surrounding the Super League war and formation of the National Rugby League led to the club being wound-up at the end of the 1997 season.

On 12 December 2006 the Australian Rugby League board accepted a proposal to establish a Western Australian Rugby League representative side to play in the NSWRL Jim Beam Cup for seasons 2008 & 2009, known as the WA Reds and played home matches at Perth Oval. In season 2010 the decision was made to enter the WA Reds team into the SG Ball Cup Under 18 competition. The season was a tough one with the 'Reds' finishing next to bottom of the ladder winning only their opening game of the season. The 2011 season saw the young Reds side improve their credentials finishing 13/18 with 3 wins from 9 matches for the season.

On 27 June 2012 the Western Australian Rugby League announced a new identity for its NRL entry bid. The West Coast Pirates has been released as the team name, with the logo a Pirate Skull over Crossed Cutlasses.

The announcement of this new bid identity is viewed as a longer-term strategy for a Western Australian-based National Rugby League but as yet seems further from implementation than when first conceived many due to the NRL officially stating that will be no further expansion until 2017 to shore up its financially weak structure.

• Rugby league in Western Australia

• Official website
• NRL Western Australia on Facebook