For a better quality page of the 1985 season (Clour, photos etc) click on 1985

1985

Gary Martine continued as First Grade Captain / Coach in 1985, while Steve Smith took over the Reserve Grade side and Tony Murphy the Third Grade side. The successes in 1984 were harder to come by in 1985. All teams reached the semi finals, with First Grade and Third Grade going down by 2 points in the Final, and Reserve Grade being beaten by Lakes in the Grand Final. A number of West Juniors played their first grade games in 1985. These included Paul Bowen (who went on to play 223 games for West), David Ashman (136 games), Lorn McDougall (142 games), Wayne Moylan (from Kotara – 124 games), Ian Hextall (from Kotara – 75 games) and Tim Butler (71 games). The main out of club signing was Greg Eager from North Newcastle. The awards for the Most Outstanding Player in each grade were won by Peter Webber (Firsts). Peter Dedman (Reserves) and Shayne Brennan (Thirds), while the Clubman of the Year was awarded to Wayne Newling for “his contribution to Rugby League, dedication to training, and assisting in all Social Committee fund raising activities”. On the representative front Gary Martine, Craig Dedman, Greg Eager, Shane Matthew, Mitchell Knight and John Farrar (pictured 2013) all represented Newcastle.  Interestingly, at the time of writing (May 2014) John Farrar is still heavily involved in the football club – indeed in many respects he is still  “doing the hard yards” for the club. Against most yard sticks 1985 was a most successful year. However although Lower Grade Premierships would be forthcoming most years, it would not be until 1992 that West again tasted success in First Grade.

For better quality pages of the 1986 season (photos , colour etc) click on 1986

These pages contain some of "Slim's" poem - a big file - may take a little time to open

1986

Paul Merlo took over as First Grade Captain / Coach in 1986, with Steve Smith being in charge of Reserve Grade and Brendan Barber being appointed Captain / Coach of Third Grade. First Grade won 15 out of 18 games in the competition rounds and finished 2^nd in the competition, but unfortunately were defeated in both their semi final appearances. Reserve Grade defeated South in the Grand Final 8 to 6, and Third Grade had an “up and down” year and where eliminated in the Semi Finals. The winning West Reserve Grade side was 1. Jon Hulbert  2. Wayne Moylan (try)  3. Phil Elliott (2 goals)  4. Roger Pearson  5. Peter Hill  6. Peter Haggerty  7. Glen Campbell  8. Ashley Hardes  9. Wayne Dawson  10. Craig Dodd  11. Greg Harrison  12. Graham Russell  13. Brett Nixon. Some of those who made their first appearance in grade in 1986 included Paul Merlo (South), Phil Elliott (Goulburn), “Smokey” Dawson (Tamworth, Craig Higgins (Raymond Terrace) and West unior, Craig Dodd. A couple of deaths in 1986 are worth mentioning. Firstly, Warren Cunningham. Warren formed a friendship with Glen Maloney, and he played a big part in attracting many players to West, the most notable of whom was John Cootes. (So now you know who was responsible for bring John Cootes to West – Warren Cunningham!) Secondly, Arthur “Slim” Hunter. Arthur was a tireless worker for West but is most famous as being the composer of the current West song, and of many “West” poems. A small collection of Slim’s poems appears on the 2^nd , 3^rd and 4^th page of this document. West’s “Clubman of the Year” was awarded to Dr Michael Braggett (pictured) for “his continued support and dedication to all concerned with Rugby League in general, and The Western Suburbs RLFC in particular”.

For a better quality page of the 1987 season (colour, photos etc) click on 1987

1987

John McLeod, originally from Bundaberg, came to West from the West Magpies in Sydney to be the First Grade Captain / Coach in 1987. Jon Hulbert took over from Steve Smith as Reserve Grade Captain / Coach with Brendan Barber again appointed as the Third Grade coach. (NB Brendan is still involved in 2014 with West – he has been an “on field trainer” for many years). It is fair to say that First Grade had a “tumultuous” season, being eliminated at the semi final stage of the competition. Reserve Grade were very unlucky losing the Grand Final to a Maitland field goal, and the impressive Third Grade side carried their good form into the final series winning the Grand Final 28 points to 6 over South. The winning Third Grade team was 1. Paul Hoole (4 goals)  2. Shaun Martin  3. David Wilson  4. Greg Mitchell (try)  5. James Wesley (try)  6. Jason Smith  7. Glen Campbell (try)  8. David Ashman (try)  9. David Baldwin  10. Craig Dodd  11. Derek McVey  12. Greg Harrison  and 13. Steve Donohue (try). The team was captained by Steve Donohue, a Kotara junior, whose father was former South legend, Peter Donohue. In addition to John McLeod, some of the new players in 1987 were Peter Chapman from Taree Old Bar (154 games for West), West junior Greg Mitchell (134 games), Kotara junior Michael “Flash” Flanagan (115 games), Wallsend junior Brett Fellshaw (88 games) and Tony Amidy joined West from Greta Branxton via Maitland. Another Kotara Junior, Greg Harrison (pictured) was awarded the “Clubman of the Year” trophy in 1987 for “his services to the club as a player in all grades, and his continued support in all social activities”. Harrison was a great clubman who played “any grade – any time”, indeed his 228 games for the club were made up of 48 Firsts, 137 Reserves and 43 Thirds.

For a better quality page of the 1988 season (Colour, photos etc) click on 1988

1988

Well that answers that question – and in answering the question one might ask “What about Third Grade?

The question – has West ever scored over 100 points in a game? The answer is a resounding YES! – just by looking at the results in Rounds 8 and 17. But the question still remains about Third Grade – 98 points in Rd 8 and 96 points in Rd 17 – missed by “this much”. Gary Martine returned as a non playing First Grade coach in 1988. Glen Armstrong took over as coach of Reserve Grade, while Brett Nixon took over the Third Grade side as a Playing Coach. First Grade were defeated finalists, whilst Reserve Grade won their Grand Final, whilst Third Grade went down to Maitland. The winning Reserve Grade side was 1. Peter Hill (2 tries)  2. Danny Brown  3. Brett Fellshaw (2 goals) 4. Peter Chapman  5. James Wesley  6. Darryl Benson  7. Tony Price  8. Lorn McDougall (try)  9. Scott Budden  10. Wayne Dawson (try)  11. Barry Loring  12. Graham Russell  and 13. Greg Harrison. The newcomers to the club in 1988 included 2 brothers who would play a combined total of 478 (yep FOUR HUNDRED and SEVENTY EIGHT) games for the club. No guesses for the names of the former Central youngsters – Tony Price played 240 and Greg Price (pictured) played 238 games for the club – a remarkable achievement. Other players to join were local juniors Wayne Hepple, Craig Lloyd and Peter Storey. Country players to join West included Peter Atkins (Taree) and Tim Morrison, and Craig Hubbard joined West from Lakes. The “Clubman of the Year” was awarded to Treasurer, Jack Bell, who had just begun his 39^th (yep 39^th) year as Treasurer. (Bell would hold that position until 1992. His 43 years as Treasurer makes him the longest serving Club Official on record).

For a better quality page of the 1989 season (colour, photos etc) click on 1989

1989

Mal Graham (pictured left 2013) took over as First Grade Captain Coach, while both Glen Armstrong and Brett Nixon continued on as the lower grade coaches. It was almost another perfect year for West – all 3 teams made the Grand Final, but First Grade were beaten by a pretty “handy” South side 20 points to 2. The winning Reserve Grade team was 1. Greg Mitchell (try)  2. Doug Gordon  3. Rod Muller  4. Greg Gleeson (try) 5. Wayne Hepple  6. Mal Clarke  7. Tony Price  13. Brett Hoad (try)  12. Scott Budden  11. Mark Blundell  10. Greg Price (try and 4 goals)  9. Greg Harrison  and 8. Mark Jager.  The winning Third Grade side was 1. Mark Picton (try)  2. Dean Carberry  3. Brett Fellshaw (try and 2 goals)  4. Peter Haggerty  5. Craig Button (try)  6. Darryl Benson  7. Graham Harman  13. Rod Hollis  12. Ken Daly  11. Col Bice  10. John Skeers  9. Paul Bowen and 8. Brett Nixon. Players new to the club in 1989 included Brett Hoad (161 games) fromWauchope, Anthony McDonnell (126 games) from Central, Rod Muller (136 games) from Taree, Darren Leaney from Coffs Harbour and local players, West junior, Peter Jenner (180 games) and Kotara junior, James Pappas (77 games). Brett Nixon (pictured right 2013) was awarded the trophy for “Clubman of the Year” for his “services to the club both on and off the field”. Indeed Brett played a major role with West Schoolboys and West seniors up until 2014 (the time of writing). The Most Outstanding Player in each Grade trophies were awarded to Anthony McDonnell (Firsts), Craig Dodd (Reserves) and Ken Daly (Thirds).