West Coast Pirates
 |
|
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | West Coast Pirates Rugby League Football Club |
| Colours |
Gold Red Black |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) |
|
| CEO | John Sackson |
| Competition | S.G. Ball Cup |
| Records | |
| Premierships | 0 |
| Runners-up | 0 |
| Minor premiership | 0 |
| Wooden spoons | 3 |
The West Coast Pirates are a rugby league football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded by the Western Australian Rugby League as a bid for Perth to rejoin an expanded National Rugby League.
Perth previously competed in the national competition as the Western Reds (from 1995-1997) and as the WA Reds in the S.G. Ball Cup 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.
The West Coast Pirates were launched in 2012 after WARL research found that just over 50% of the marketplace associated the Western Reds name with failure. Despite this the club will continue to use the same red, black and gold colours of the Western Reds.
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 2020. 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, need to move interstate to continue their career.
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.
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. Below is a list of those players.
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