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 Western Australia and runs the main Perth metropolitan competitions. This includes eleven clubs in the Perth metropolitan competition (seven fielding first grade), sponsored as the Fuel to Go and Play Premiership, as well as representative teams that compete in interstate competitions. There are over 4,000 participants
History
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]
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]
International touring teams in WA
International football also has a history in WA, with Great Britain Lions touring Perth in 1950, 1957 1962 1975 England 1958, and France touring in 1951, 1955, 1964, 1990.[1]
Club Football
Branding of the Western Australian Rugby League
Former logo
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)
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.
WARL competitions
WARL Premiership
The NRLWA, sponsored as the Fuel to Go and Play Premiership, is the premier rugby league football competition in the state. The majority of the Eleven clubs originate in the Perth metro area and both Fremantle and South Perth are foundation WARL clubs. Junior grades run from under 6's up to under 16's and senior competition is divided into four divisions, Men's First Grade, Men's Reserve Grade (Val Murphy Trophy), Women's Tackle and Women's League Tag (Flag Belt).
