The West Coast Pirates Rugby League Football Club, officially referred to as The Cash Converters West Coast Pirates for sponsorship reasons, are 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, Western Australia 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 ...

. The club was founded by the

Western Australian 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 ...

as a bid for

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 ...

to rejoin an expanded

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

in 2026. If successful, the Pirates would play out of HBF Park, with the support of the Western Australian Government through a $96 million upgrade to the venue.

History

Perth previously competed in the national competition as the

Western Reds The Western Reds were a rugby league football club based in Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1992 as the Western Reds, they entered into the Australian Rugby League competition in 1995 before defecting to the rival Super League competition ...

(from 1995-1996), the Perth Reds (1997) and as the

WA Reds The Western Reds were a rugby league football club based in Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1992 as the Western Reds, they entered into the Australian Rugby League competition in 1995 before defecting to the rival Super League competition i ...

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 ...

from 2006-2011. It is unknown at this stage whether the West Coast Pirates will keep the history and playing records of the Reds when they join the NRL or if the Pirates will start from scratch.

Name and logo

The West Coast Pirates were launched in 2012 after WARL research found that just over 50% of the marketplace associated the

name with failure. Despite this the club will continue to use the same red, black and gold colours of the Western Reds.

The Pirates Plan

The Pirate's Plan estimates that the club will need two years notice from the NRL to build a competitive squad and aims to be in the top five recognised sporting brands within Australia by 2022. It also identifies the problem WA talent needing to move across the country to play in the NRL and hopes that local players will be able to stay in Western Australia once the club is in the NRL. At the moment players who graduate from the Pirates SG Ball team to the NRL, like

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 pla ...

, need to move interstate to continue their career. The Pirates also plan on developing an

Intrust Super Premiership The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

side.

Fan support

The West Coast Pirates are widely supported for re-admission into the NRL by players and fans alike. Perth-born players in particular are supportive of Western Australia competing in the NRL once again.

Players

As of 2014 there have been fifteen graduates from the West Coast Pirates that have gone on to earn contracts with NRL clubs, either with the NRL team or with the NRL Under 20's team, including: *

Adam Quinlan Adam Quinlan (born 13 November 1992) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a for Hull Kingston Rovers in the Betfred Super League. He has previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in two ...

* Waqa Blake * Jordan Pereira *

Jackson Topine Jackson Topine pronounced () (born 22 August 2001) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League, NRL (National Rugby League) and the New Zealan ...

Representative players

References

External links

* {{NRL expansion clubs 2012 establishments in Australia Rugby clubs established in 2012 Rugby league teams in Western Australia Sporting clubs in Perth, Western Australia Proposed sports teams Proposals in Australia Expansion of the National Rugby League