Western Premier League

The Western Premier League is a regional Australian association football league, comprising teams from the Central West region of New South Wales. The competition is run under the Western NSW Football body, an associate of Football NSW - a member federation of Football Federation Australia. It fits below the national A-League and NSW wide divisions including National Premier Leagues NSW, being level 6 league in the Australian league system.

Western Premier League
Founded1994 (reformed in 2020)
CountryAustralia
Number of teams7
Level on pyramid6
Current: 2020 Western Premier League season

History

The Western Premier League was founded in 1994 with East Dubbo United taking out the inaugural championship, defeating Bathurst '75 on penalties 4–3 in the grand final, after the score was locked at 2-all at the end of extra-time.

The competition ran from 1994 until the end of 2012 before collapsing after Westside Panthers and Dubbo Bulls all pulled out in quick succession, leaving just three teams in the competition.[1] The competition was later revived ahead of the 2020 season, with nine teams initially entering the first WPL season in eight years,[2] later reduced to seven teams by July when the season commenced after a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Format

The competition will consist of seven teams from around the Central West region of New South Wales for the 2020 season. Each team will play each other twice, to form a 14-round, round robin format. Four teams progress to a finals series, with the final two teams playing-off in a grand final to determine the winner.

Current clubs and location

The following clubs will participate in the 2020 Western Premier League:

Locations of the 2021 WPL clubs.
Club Location Ground Founded Champions Champions years
Barnstoneworth United Orange Jack Brabham Park 1998 0
Dubbo Bulls Dubbo Lady Cutler Oval 2005 4 2010, 2011, 2012, 2020
Lithgow Workmen's Lithgow Marjorie Jackson Oval 1982 0
Macquarie United (Dubbo) Dubbo Hans Claven Oval 2013 0
Mudgee Wolves Mudgee Glen Willow Regional Sports Stadium 0
Orana Spurs Dubbo Lady Cutler Oval 1992 1 2001
Orange Waratahs Orange Waratah Sports Ground 4 1995, 2000, 2006, 2007
Panorama Bathurst Proctor Park 2012 0
Parkes Cobras Parkes Woodward Oval 2020 0

Former clubs
Club Location Founded Champions Champions years Current status
Bathurst '75 Bathurst 1975 6 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005 Bathurst District Football
Bathurst City Red Tops Bathurst 0 Bathurst District Football
Bathurst City Colts Bathurst 0 Disbanded
Canobolas Rangers Orange 1 1999 Disbanded
Cowra Wildcats Orange 0 Disbanded
East Dubbo United Dubbo 1984 1 1994 Dubbo & District Football Association
Lithgow City Rangers Lithgow 1970 0 Bathurst District Football
Macquarie United (Bathurst) Bathurst 1984 0 Bathurst District Football
Orange CYMS Orange 1975 0 Orange & District Football Association
Oxford United Bathurst 0 Disbanded
SASS Strikers Dubbo 0 Dubbo & District Football Association
Westside Panthers Dubbo 1979 3 2004, 2008, 2009 Dubbo & District Football Association
Young Rebels Young 0 Disbanded

Grand final results
Year Champion Runners-up Score Venue Teams
1994 East Dubbo United Bathurst '75 2–2 (4–3 on penalties) Marjorie Jackson Oval, Lithgow 6
1995 Orange Waratahs Canobolas Rangers 1–0 Alec Lamberton Field, Bathurst 7
1996 Bathurst '75 Macquarie United (Bathurst) 3–0 Waratah Sports Ground, Orange 6
1997 Bathurst '75 Orange CYMS 1–0 Alec Lamberton Field, Bathurst 6
1998 Bathurst '75 Orange Waratahs 3–0 Waratah Sports Ground, Orange 7
1999 Canobolas Rangers Orange CYMS 3–0 Jack Brabham Park, Orange 8
2000 Orange Waratahs Orange CYMS 3–1 Waratah Sports Ground, Orange 8
2001 Orana Spurs East Dubbo United 2–1 Lady Cutler Oval, Dubbo 9
2002 Bathurst '75 Westside Panthers 3–2 Lady Cutler Oval, Dubbo 8
2003 Bathurst '75 Canobolas Rangers 0–0 (5–4 on penalties) Alec Lamberton Field, Bathurst 8
2004[3] Westside Panthers Bathurst '75 1–0 Lady Cutler Oval, Dubbo 7
2005[4] Bathurst '75 Dubbo Bulls 1–0 Alec Lamberton Field, Bathurst 6
2006 Orange Waratahs Bathurst '75 0–0 (6–5 on penalties) Alec Lamberton Field, Bathurst 7
2007[5] Orange Waratahs Bathurst '75 1–0 Alec Lamberton Field, Bathurst 7
2008[6] Westside Panthers Bathurst '75 3–3 (3–1 on penalties) Lady Cutler Oval, Dubbo 7
2009 Westside Panthers Orange Waratahs 3–3 (5–4 on penalties) Jack Brabham Park, Orange 6
2010[7] Dubbo Bulls Orange Waratahs 1–1 (5–4 on penalties) Lady Cutler Oval, Dubbo 6
2011[8] Dubbo Bulls Westside Panthers 3–1 Lady Cutler Oval, Dubbo 5
2012[9] Dubbo Bulls Orange Waratahs 3–1 Waratah Sports Ground, Orange 5
Competition disbanded between 2013-2019
2020 Dubbo Bulls Macquarie United (Dubbo) 2–1 Apex Oval, Dubbo 7

Performance by club

There are seven clubs who have won the Western Premier League title.

Teams in bold compete in the Western Premier League as of the 2020 season.

Club Winners Runners-up Winning years Runners-up years
Bathurst '75 6 5 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005 1994, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
Orange Waratahs 4 4 1995, 2000, 2006, 2007 1998, 2009, 2010 2012
Dubbo Bulls 4 1 2010, 2011, 2012, 2020 2005
Westside Panthers 3 2 2004, 2008, 2009 2002, 2011
Canobolas Rangers 1 2 1999 1995, 2003
East Dubbo United 1 1 1994 2001
Orana Spurs 1 0 2001
Orange CYMS 0 3 1997, 1999, 2000
Macquarie United (Bathurst) 0 1 1996
Macquarie United (Dubbo) 0 1 2020

Lower grades

Reserve Grade
  • 1994 - Lithgow Workmen's
  • 1995 - Canobolas Rangers
  • 1996 - Bathurst '75
  • 1997 - Bathurst '75
  • 1998 - Bathurst '75
  • 1999 - Canobolas Rangers
  • 2000 - East Dubbo United
  • 2001 - Bathurst '75
  • 2002 - Bathurst ' 75
  • 2003 - Orange Waratahs
  • 2004 - Orana Spurs
  • 2005 - Orange Waratahs
  • 2006 - Bathurst '75
  • 2007 - Canobolas Rangers
  • 2008 - Orange Waratahs
  • 2009 - Westside Panthers
  • 2010 - Dubbo Bulls
  • 2011 - Orange Waratahs
  • 2012 - Dubbo Bulls

Under 18s
  • 1995 - Canobolas Rangers
  • 1996 - Cowra Wildcats
  • 1999 - Lithgow City Rangers
  • 2001 - Dubbo SASS
  • 2002 - Dubbo SASS
  • 2003 - Orana Spurs
  • 2004 - Bathurst '75
  • 2005 - Orange Waratahs
  • 2006 - Dubbo Bulls
  • 2007 - Westside Panthers
  • 2008 - Westside Panthers
  • 2009 - Orana Spurs
  • 2010 - Lithgow Workmen's
  • 2011 - Dubbo Bulls
  • 2012 - Dubbo Bulls

References
  1. Western Premier League's 2020 revival all but confirmed in Western Advocate 2 February 2020
  2. Western Premier League officially confirmed to return in 2020 in Western Advocate 17 February 2020
  3. Panthers pounce on championship in Daily Liberal 12 September 2004
  4. Football flashback: Bathurst '75 defeat Dubbo Bulls to win 2005 Western Premier League grand final in Western Advocate 9 June 2020
  5. Sugden seals successive titles in Central Western Daily 9 September 2007
  6. Panthers celebrate four titles in Daily Liberal 1 October 2008
  7. Bull's win six years in making in Daily Liberal 14 September 2010
  8. Bulls win back-to-back titles in premier league in Daily Liberal 4 September 2011
  9. Three in a row for Dubbo FC in Daily Liberal 28 August 2012
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