West Coast Rugby League (WCRL) is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of rugby league in the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

region of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, centred around

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

. The WCRL own Wingham Park and are represented by the

West Coast rugby league team The West Coast rugby league team are New Zealand rugby league team that represents the West Coast Rugby League. They have been nicknamed the ''Chargers''. History The West Coast side played its first match against Canterbury, losing 30–16 on 3 ...

Clubs

Seven clubs currently compete in the West Coast senior competition; * Brunner Bulls * Cobden-Kohinoor Keas * Hokitika * Marist * Runanga * Suburbs * Waro-Rakau Hornets

Grand Final Winners

These are the Grand Final winners from 1979 to 2012.

History

The West Coast Rugby League was formed on 3 June, after

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

and

played each other earlier in the day.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987 On the 14 June Kohinoor left the

West Coast Rugby Union The West Coast Rugby Football Union, formed in 1890, is the official governing body for rugby union in the Westland County, Hokitika Borough and Greymouth Borough districts, located in the West Coast provincial region of New Zealand, and is affi ...

and two days later, on the 16th, they started the senior club competition with Blackball and Hokitika. The Grey club was added on 6 July. The West Coast Rugby League went into recess at the end of the year, until being revived in 1919 by J.D. Wingham. Blackball, Kohinoor and Runanga competed in the 1919 competition. Since then rugby league has traditionally been the most successful team sport in the

. However, since the 1990s the West Coast has usually participated in Second Division or South Island competitions and in particular the West Coast missed out on having a team in either the

Lion Red Cup The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994 to 1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being a ...

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Zeala ...

, the two main

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

competitions of the 1990s and 2000s.

Notable juniors competed in the NRL

Cobden-Kohinoor *

Slade Griffin Slade Griffin (born 17 January 1991), is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer. His positions were and . He is currently the head coach of the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL Women's Premiership. He previously played for ...

(

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. ...

) Marist *

Brent Stuart Brent Clifford Stuart is a rugby league coach and former player who represented New Zealand. Playing career Stuart was originally from the West Coast. He was educated at Marist Brothers High School, Greymouth. A West Coast and Canterbury re ...

(

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 ...

and

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

) Waro-Rakau *

Quentin Pongia Quentin Lee Pongia (9 July 1970 – 18 May 2019) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in the 1990s and 2000s. Background He was the grandson of fellow Kiwi international Jim Calder. His sister Megan Tahapeehi ...

(

) Suburbs *

Griffin Neame Griffin Neame (born 1 March 2001) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL). Background Neame was born in Greymouth, New Zealand. He played his ...

(

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

)

References

External links

WCRL homepage
{{Rugby League in New Zealand Rugby league on the West Coast, New Zealand Rugby league governing bodies in New Zealand