The Sandgropers
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| Nicknames |
Sandgropers The Black Swans |
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| Governing body | West Australian Football League | ||||||
| First game | |||||||
 Victoria 14.10(94)–8.11(59) Western Australia  1904 |
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The Western Australia Australian rules football team, also known as the Sandgropers, is the state representative side of Western Australia in the sport of Australian rules football.
Western Australia has a proud history in interstate football, having a successful historical record and winning three Australian Championships and a State of Origin Carnival Championship, in the State of Origin era.
Western Australia has a long and intense rivalry with Victoria. The 1986 game between Western Australia and Victoria is "regarded by many people as one of the greatest games – not just in State of Origin – but in the 150 years of Australian Football".
The rivalry with Victoria stems from before State of Origin started clubs in the Victorian Football League (VFL), being the richest league, used to sign many of the best players from interstate and the standard rules prior to 1977 were that all VFL players played interstate football for Victoria. Also contributing a feeling in Western Australia that Victoria never gave them the credit they deserve, despite some of the best players of all time coming from the state. The rivalry with Victoria is characterised in the West Coast Eagles first song, with the line "for years they took the best of us and claimed them for their own, but now we've got them back again", referring to the VFL making Western Australian players play for Victoria.
Western Australia played several interstate matches annually from 1904 until when State of Origin ended in 1999. Western Australia has participated in every Australian National Football Carnival, and always in section 1 when there were divisions. Throughout the majority of the team's history its players came from the West Australian Football League. Between 1977-1999 West Australian players in the Victorian Football League played State of Origin football for the Sandgropers.
Western Australia has won three State of Origin Carnival championships. The 1980s were Western Australia's most successful period, winning the Australian Championship three times.
Western Australia won the historic first State of Origin game against Victoria in 1977 by 94 points. This game was a significant endorsement of the concept as a Victorian team had defeated the West Australian team under the previous selection rules by 64 points in the same year.
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