The Western Suburbs Rosellas, Western Suburbs, Wests, The Rosellas or The Maggots (local nickname) are a Rugby League

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 club based in the Newcastle, NSW region of Australia. It was a foundation member of the Newcastle Rugby League

Newcastle Rugby League

The Newcastle Rugby League is a rugby league competition in Newcastle, Australia. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1910...

 in 1909 and has been one of the most successful teams in that competition. The club has had a number of players represent Australia including Wally Prigg

Wally Prigg

Wally Prigg was an Australian rugby league player. He was a lock forward for the Australian national rugby league team. He played 19 Tests for the Kangaroos between 1929–38, 7 as captain and has since been named amongst the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.-Club and representative...

, a member of the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame

Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame

The Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame honors players who have shown exceptional skill at rugby league, all-time great coaches and referees, and other major contributors to the game who are Australian...

. Johnny Raper

Johnny Raper

John Raper, MBE is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a lock forward for the Australia national team. He had a record 33 test caps between 1959 and 1968 and played in 6 World Cup games between 1960 to 1968...

, another member of the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame

Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame

The Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame honors players who have shown exceptional skill at rugby league, all-time great coaches and referees, and other major contributors to the game who are Australian...

 played for Wests after he finished playing for the St. George Dragons

St. George Dragons

The St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,...

.

Early years

A strike in 1909 hastened the conversion to the professional code and the club was formed in New Lambton

New Lambton, New South Wales

New Lambton is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, located west of the city centre. Its eastern boundary is the Great Northern Railway, where it is served by Adamstown railway station...

, though no Rebels

Newcastle Rebels

Newcastle were a rugby league team who played in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership from 1908–1909, one of the nine foundation clubs. After the formation of several clubs in January 1908, members of the NSWRFL came to Newcastle to hold talks with the local footballing community...

 players had joined. Playing in red and green, their first match was on 14 May 1910 where they lost to South Newcastle 18-0. They withdrew from the competition midyear.

The club has been known as the Rosellas since at least 1915, where it is recorded in a report on a challenge match where they as champions played Balmain

Balmain Tigers

The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...

 as champions of the Sydney premiership that year and won 35-5.

The 1990s-

The club has had a successful leagues club making an attractive sponsor of rugby league in the national rugby league. Despite attempts by the Newcastle Knights

Newcastle Knights

The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...

 to gain sponsorship from the Wests Leagues Club, in 1995, the club was going to be the majority owner of the Hunter Mariners

Hunter Mariners

The Hunter Mariners were an Australian rugby league club based in the Hunter Valley region's largest city, Newcastle. Hunter was formed in mid 1995 and was later disbanded at the end of 1997. The club was formed because of the Super League war, which was the rivalry between the traditional...

 in the Super League competition

Super League (Australia)

Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to...

 until a majority of members of the club made it clear that they would not support a team in the Super League competing against the Knights in August 1995. Bob Ferris, the General Manager of Western Suburbs, left shortly after to manage the Mariners. In December 2005 the Wests Leagues Club, entered into an arrangement with the Newcastle Knights

Newcastle Knights

The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...

 to secure their future as a member of the National Rugby League

National Rugby League

The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...

.

Wests Football Club has also supplied a number of players for the Knights most notably NSW and Australian player Matthew Gidley

Matthew Gidley

Matthew "Matt" Gidley is an Australian rugby league administrator and retired professional footballer. Born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Gidley represented New South Wales and Australia. He is the currently CEO of Football Operations at the Newcastle Knights...

, current players Kurt Gidley

Kurt Gidley

Kurt Gidley is a professional Australian rugby league player and captain of the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative fullback he has played his entire NRL career to date with the Knights. He is the younger brother of Matthew...

, Jarrod Mullen

Jarrod Mullen

Jarrod Stephen Mullen is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Newcastle Knights of the National Rugby League . A New South Wales State of Origin representative half, he has played his entire career to date with the Knights.Born in Singleton in Northern...

 and former Knights player Luke Walsh

Luke Walsh

Luke Walsh is an indigenous Australian professional rugby league player for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League competition. His position of choice is at halfback....

.

West Song

The team song for the Rosellas is "Oh have you ever seen a better football team than the one that plays for West, They come from miles away just to see us play cause they say West is Best, The Western Suburb boys fill the crowd with joy. Their the best you've ever seen, So you'd better come along when you hear this song and see the boys in the red and green."

Premiership titles

Years Won

1912

1915

1916

1922

1961

1966

1970

1978

1980

1981

1982

1984

1992

1997

1998

1999

2002

2004

2008

International representatives

Wally Prigg

Wally Prigg

Wally Prigg was an Australian rugby league player. He was a lock forward for the Australian national rugby league team. He played 19 Tests for the Kangaroos between 1929–38, 7 as captain and has since been named amongst the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.-Club and representative...

 (Australia 1929)
Keith Froome

Keith Froome

George Keith Froome was an Australian rugby league player. He was a halfback for the Australian national team. He played in 8 Tests between 1948 and 1949 as captain on 2 occasions.-Early life and wartime:...

 (Australia 1948)
Col Maxwell

Col Maxwell

Colin Maxwell was an Australian international rugby league footballer whose career ran from the 1930s to the 1950s. He was a centre for the Australian national team. He played in 1 Test in 1948 in which he captained the side.-Club career:...

 (Australia 1948)
Ian Johnston (Australia 1949)
Johnny Raper

Johnny Raper

John Raper, MBE is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a lock forward for the Australia national team. He had a record 33 test caps between 1959 and 1968 and played in 6 World Cup games between 1960 to 1968...

 (Australia 1959)
Allan Buman (Australia 1965)
John Cootes

John Cootes

John Cootes was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and Roman Catholic priest. An Australian international representative three-quarter and adept goal-kicker, he played club football in Newcastle for Western Suburbs and also later worked as a television commentator and...

 (Australia 1969)
Ken Maddison

Ken Maddison

Ken Maddison is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1960s and 70s. He played in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership for the St. George Dragons and later the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks . He was also a state and national representative, playing four Tests for...

 (Australia 1973)
Matthew Gidley

Matthew Gidley

Matthew "Matt" Gidley is an Australian rugby league administrator and retired professional footballer. Born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Gidley represented New South Wales and Australia. He is the currently CEO of Football Operations at the Newcastle Knights...

 (Australia 1999)
Anthony Tupou

Anthony Tupou

Anthony Tupou is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks of the National Rugby League...

 (Australia 2006)
Kurt Gidley

Kurt Gidley

Kurt Gidley is a professional Australian rugby league player and captain of the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative fullback he has played his entire NRL career to date with the Knights. He is the younger brother of Matthew...

(Australia 2007)