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 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.

Western Reds

Club information
Full name	Western Reds Rugby League Football Club
Founded	30 November 1992; 32 years ago (30 November 1992)
Exited	1997; 28 years ago (1997)
Former details
Ground(s)	WACA Ground (1995–1997) Perth Oval (2006–2011)
Competition	Australian Rugby League (1995–1996) Super League (1997) S.G. Ball Cup (2006–2011) Bundaberg Rum Cup (2009)

Prior to the Western Bears commemncing play in the NRL in 2027, they were the only team from the state of Western Australia to have participated in top-flight rugby league in Australia: a bid to return the club to the NRL was launched in 2012 as the West Coast Pirates, with this bid being taken over by the Western Australian Government, and subsequently merged with the North Sydney Bears to form the Western Bears.

History

See also: Rugby league in Western Australia

Western Reds (1992–1996)

The Reds had recruited well in 1993–94, and signed Peter Mulholland as their first coach. St. George fullback Michael Potter (twice winner of the Dally M Award), 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 28–16. When News Limited began its "blitzkrieg" in April 1995, the Reds aligned themselves with Super League along with nine other Australian Rugby League 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 (AFL) player Adrian Barich. Barich, having grown up in Canberra reverted from Australian rules football to rugby league, finishing his career with seasons with the Reds, however he never played in first grade.^[1]

After declaring that the club may not have the financial resources to compete in the 1996 ARL Optus Cup, 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)

Main article: 1997 Perth Reds season

In 1997, the Reds became one of eight ARL teams to join the rival Super League during the dispute known as the Super League war. They changed their name to the Perth Reds for the 1997 Super League season,^[2] and adopted a jersey of red, white and black. Although the club had made some promising signings, such as Rodney Howe and Robbie Kearns, 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 played Western Suburbs Magpies at Lathlain Park in Perth, with Melbourne running out winners 62–6. In 2005, Cronulla took their home game against the New Zealand Warriors 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.^[3]

In the 2009 Bundaberg Red Cup the Reds were winless until they won 3 of their 4 last games, giving them something to build on for the next season. Darwin Rugby League product Aaron Barnes was named the Reds' player of the year.^[4]
Unfortunately for financial reasons, the Reds senior 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 competition. The first trial game on 30 January 2010 was against the runners-up of the Western Australia Rugby League competition the Central Bulldogs, which they won 38–20. The WARL 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 their 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 no Perth team eventuated until 2027.

Players

See also: List of Western 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

Matt Geyer

Rodney Howe

Robbie Kearns

Brad Mackay

Barrie-Jon Mather

Simon Robbie

Scott Wilson

David Dowell

Shayne McMenemy

Danny Davies

Emir K

Faisal Alshehabı

Ali Alkaabı

WA Reds (2006–2011)

Liam Mulhall

Savi Hafoka

Pikari Te Wara

Clae Morgan

Heath Egglestone

Ryan Dickson

Matt Doeg

James Blake

Issac Thomas

John Phipps

James McGowan

Delane Edwards

Taurean Sheehan

Joel Freeman

Gareth Morton

Aaron Barnes

Nathan Searle

Carlin Miller

Michael Elphick

Ben McCrone

Frank Matthewman

Internationals

Rodney Howe (1997)

Julian O'Neill (1997)

Barrie-Jon Mather (1997)

Shayne McMenemy (2007)

Halvor Harris (2015)

Bradley Williams (2015)

Coaches

• John Dorahy (U/21 1995)
• Peter Mulholland (1995–96)
• Dean Lance (1997)

Club records

Biggest Win 28 points, 34–6 against Canterbury Bulldogs at Perth Oval on 23 March 1997. Biggest Loss 42 points, 0–42 against Sydney Bulldogs at Parramatta Stadium 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 (21 tries, 63 goals) Most First Grade Tries 21 – Chris Ryan Most Points in a Season 136 – Chris Ryan (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 (v Penrith, 1997)

See also

• Sports portal
• Western Australia portal

• West Coast Pirates
• National Rugby League
• Western Australia Rugby League
• Rugby league in Western Australia