The bulk of Wests' players are drawn from the western suburbs of Brisbane where local rivals GPS and University, only a few suburbs away, also compete for players. Wests also draw from Ipswich and Springfield.
Wests is one of the smaller Premier Rugby clubs in terms of player numbers, but it has achieved a share of success in the competition, winning premierships in 1977, 1985, 2006, and 2022.
Wests Rugby Union Club was founded in 1951 and only fielded one team, but went on to win the reserve grade competition in that first season. Player numbers increased in following years and the club was promoted to the first grade competition in 1955.[2]
The Bulldog mascot was adopted in 1956. The club's blue and white jerseys were changed to red, white and blue in 1959 to be more distinguishable from the Brothers' colours, but were finally changed to green and gold in 1961 when Wests amalgamated with the Toowong Rugby Club. The merger prompted a shift of home ground from Normanby in Spring Hill to Memorial Park at Sylvan Road in Toowong.[2]
Wests won the first grade Premiership in 1977, the club's 23rd season in the competition. Stan Pileki and Trevor Davies were the props in the team that was captained by Geoff Wessling.[2][3]
Wests had four players selected for Australia at the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup; Roger Gould, Troy Coker, Bill Campbell and Brian Smith. The depth of future talent at the club in 1987 was illustrated when Wests won all three Colts grade (under 19) premierships on the same day. Thirteen players from the Colts I team went on to representative honours; most notably Phil de Glanville, the future England Captain, who played at centre.[2]
In 1991, Wests won the Minor Premiership but lost the Grand Final to Souths, and a period of rebuilding on and off the field followed. Clubhouse facilities were extended in 1992–93, and the first Women's team was formed in 1994.[2] Wests began another resurgence in the late 1990s. The club made the Grand Final three years in a row from 1998 to 2000 but fell agonisingly short each time.
Wests became the Minor Premiers in 2022 and went on to defeat the University of Queensland 44–27 to win the Grand Final. In 2023, the Bulldogs made their first back-to-back grand final in over 20 years.
Premiership Finals results
Brothers v Wests in the 2006 Grand Final
Premiers (Hospital Challenge Cup)
1977 Wests 15–10 Brothers
1985 Wests 10–7 University of Queensland
2006 Wests 23–22 Brothers
2022 Wests 44–27 University of Queensland
Runners-up (Vince Nicholls Memorial Trophy)
1991 Souths 22–15 Wests
1998 Souths 34–18 Wests
1999 Easts 16–15 Wests
2000 Souths 34–30 Wests
2023 Brothers 26–24 Wests
National Club Champions
The Australian Club Championship is a challenge match between the Brisbane and Sydney club premiers. Wests have played in the fixture three times (1986, 2007 and 2023), winning it once (1986).
Internationals
Past and present international players Australian Representatives
