Training & Games
In 2018, West Coast AFC is fielding four mens teams, with our top sides playing in the WAAFL's B League, B Reserves and Drew Banfield Colts competitions (Colts limited to players aged 16-20), plus a social E Grade team. The club is also breaking new ground nominating a female football team to play in the first season of the WAAFL's Women's Football competition.
Amateur football is intended to be fun. We play to win and train hard, but place as much importance on providing a great social environment off-field to complement our on-field activities.
TRAINING
Colts train on Mondays and Thursdays. Boots on 5:15pm, start from 5:30pm sharp.
Seniors train on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Boots on 5:45pm, start from 6pm sharp.
Training is not compulsory - this is amateur footy. If you can't make training all we ask is that you let your team mates know in the Facebook group. Modified programs provided for injured/recovery players.
GAMES
Team selections are on Thursday night, with games taking place during the day on Saturdays (*occasional night games)
Players are encouraged to arrive early to support the club in the prior game, then stick around to cheer in those that follow.
Presentations take place on Saturday evenings - refer to the Event Calendar for more details, along with club functions.
RESOURCES
Refer to the 2018 Players Handbook for everything you need to know about playing for the mighty Tigers.
The handbook includes details of the club's Development Pathway, insurance details, concussion and injury management, etc.
You will also find details of home and away fixtures, the event calendar, coach and committee contact details in the handbook.
Meet The Coaches
The development of our young players is crucial to the club's future, and we know coaches play a crucial role.
West Coast Amateur Football Club invests heavily in our coaching staff and their continual development, with all coaches supported to achieve the highest levels of accreditation and professional development.
With great pleasure, let us introduce you to our coaching panel for the 2018 season...
Senior Coaches
Rohan McHugh & Curtis Guglielmana
An experienced footballer, coach and school teacher by trade, Rohan McHugh moved to WA from Victoria in 2015 to join SEDA's Fremantle Dockers Sports Development Program. Rohan played and coached in a number of premiership sides in the TAC Cup, VFL and VCFL competitions, and represented VCFL and WACFL State sides in '14 and '15.
In his first year coaching at West Coast, Rohan was a finalist for Claremont District's 2016 Senior Coach of the Year. Building on that momentum in 2017, Rohan coached our A Colts side into the finals, knocking off eventual premiers University along the way.
Rohan will be joined on our senior coaching panel by Curtis Guglielmana, who continues in his role as Reserves Coach. A physiotherapist by trade, Curtis came to the club with a decorated Country Football record and has brought a great deal of professionalism and enthusiasm since joining "the boys from ol' West Coast" in 2017.
Senior Assistants
Xavier Ellis & Mick Doherty
West Coast Amateur Football Club is pleased to announce the addition of Hawthorn premiership player and ex-Eagle, Xavier Ellis, to the club's coaching panel in 2018. We are excited by the professionalism and experience that Xavier brings, having played for seven seasons under AFL supercoach Alistair Clarkson since he joined the Hawks as a #3 draft pick in 2005. Xavier's appointment is another positive step in the club developing and continuing to invest in providing the best on-field and off-field environment we can for the benefit of all our young players. Welcome to the real West Coast, Xav!
Bringing further experience to the West Coast coaching panel in 2018 is Mick Doherty, who joins the club in a Senior Assistant role with an extensive coaching resume, including three years at the Oakleigh Chargers in Victoria's talent factory TAC Cup competition. Since moving to WA in 2012, Mick also took on an Assistant Coaching role for the State 16s at the WA Football Commission's academy.
Colts Coaches
Leigh Ashby & David McGlynn
Having grown into the role of Colts Assistant in 2015 and 2016, Leigh Ashby took on the reins for our B Colts side in 2017 and now steps into the Head Colts coaching job for 2018. A talented footballer himself, Leigh is a two-time State 23s player, as well as being a member of the Senior Leadership group and performing a Player Development role on the committee. He was inaugural winner of the club's Young Leadership Award in 2017.
Leigh will be assisted by David McGlynn, who joins us with a keen interest to further his coaching development in 2018 and beyond. David has previously coached a number of our young players when at Cottesloe U/16s and is striving to coach in talent pathways.
E1 League
Stephen King & Dan Walker
"Kinga" joined West Coast as a player in 2014, and decided he could add some real value to the club by taking on the 3rds League coaching position. In his first year he showed his abilities on and off the field to get the 3s through to a preliminary final. In 2016, he once again coached the 3s to a preliminary final, but fell just short again. Kinga and his 3s then had an amazing 2017, losing only 1 game all season as arguably the best defensive team to finish second on the ladder, they finally got past the preliminary final, and Kinga ended up coaching in and winning his first Grand Final. Kings stats over his 3 years of coaching are impressive to say the least - with a total of 38 wins from 49 regular season games, 4 wins from 8 finals, with the icing of the cake being 1 win from 1 grand final appearance.
Meanwhile, Dan Walker still dines out on the fact a (distant) relative played AFL.
A League Womens
Damian Verazzi & Tal Berman
Damian coached the inaugural Womens team in the Have-A-Go Carnival last year, with great success. He has been at the club for three years and loves it, taking on a Vice-President role as well as his on-field commitments. Growing up playing footy in the Great Southern, Damian moved to Perth for studies and is now a teach at Wanneroo, where he is also involved in the female footy department developing the sport at the school too.
Tal has been a friendly face at the Tigers for many years and is a valued addition to our coaching team. A keen athlete and sportsperson herself, Tal is also a Health and Physical Education Teacher at St Mary's Anglican Girls School.
Female Football
West Coast Amateur Football Club is excited to announce the nomination of a women's football team in the inaugural season of the WAAFL's Women's Football competition in 2018.
West Coast AFC is committed to providing women an opportunity to play Aussie Rules football and enjoy our great game in a positive and welcoming club environment.
Players of all ages, levels of experience and abilities are welcome to join us.
TRAINING
Training takes place weekly at the club's scenic City Beach Oval facility.
Our coaches tailor sessions to ensure that all players are developing their skills and improving both individually and as a team.
We have a top-quality clubroom facility, floodlights and can make uniforms and equipment available to players. Bring your shoes, fitness clothes and get ready to have some fun!
GAMES
Games typically take place on Sunday afternoons (approx 3pm-5pm) so as not to clash with Netball and other activities on Sunday.
The WAAFL has finalised fixtures for for a 14 round season in 2018, with each of the seven A Grade teams playing each other twice, plus two byes. Fixtures are available here.
The club provides all women with two pairs of shorts (navy for home, white for away) plus a warmup singlet. Socks can be purchased from the online shop.
HAVE-A-GO CARNIVAL
If you want to give football a try but aren't sure about committing to a full season just yet, why not come down to training to meet the team and start practising your skills, then "have-a-go" in the WAAFL's mid-season carnival again this year?
More information to follow as it comes to hand.
Club Environment
Here at West Coast Amateur Football Club, we pride ourselves on strong values, nurturing leadership skills in the next generation and helping to develop our members into well-rounded young men and valued members of the community.
Read on for more information about some of the programs and people who make our club special.
NAIDOC WEEK
In partnership with Wirrpanda Foundation, our club celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in NAIDOC Week, and proudly recognises the important role Indigenous Australians play in our society and the game of Australian Rules Football.
In our annual NAIDOC Week game, players wear jumpers specially designed by Indigenous leaders within our playing group. This year's NAIDOC game will be at City Beach Oval on Saturday 14 July.
With the 2018 National NAIDOC theme "Because of her, we can", we hope to schedule a feature match for Female Footballers to mark the occasion in a special way.
CITY TO SURF
All players take part in volunteering activities outside of football, such as the City To Surf which the club has supported for more than a decade with our major partners, Activ Foundation.
AUSKICK GALA DAY
In partnership with West Coast Junior Club, each year we support the Claremont District's massive Auskick Gala Day, with up to 2000 youngsters enjoying a great day of footy on City Beach Oval.
Club History
THE FORMATIVE YEARS
West Coast Amateur Football Club commenced in the WAAFL in 1984, the product of a merger between the City Beach All Stars and Floreat Marist Football Club. See here for pre-merger history.
Over the course of its 34 year history, the club has experienced numerous highlights, including a number of successful seasons in the WAAFL’s premier A Grade competition, culminating in arguably the pinnacle of West Coast's history, with the League team winning the A Grade Premiership in 1994 under the guidance of John Dimmer - who went on to coach West Perth to WAFL flags in 1995 and 1999, followed by premierships with South Fremantle in 2005 and 2009.
The club has provided a launching pad for a number of high-profile football careers. For example, Ken Judge took on his first senior coaching position at West Coast AFC in 1990-1991, before going on to coach 89 AFL games with Hawthorn (1996-1999) and 44 AFL games at the West Coast Eagles (2000-2001). Similarly, a number of future stars of the WAFL competition first cut their teeth at West Coast; they include Shane Beros (Swan Districts veteran and winner of the 2003 Sandover Medal), Corey Johnson (160 game midfielder at West Perth, who won the 2002 Simpson Medal, for best-on-ground in the annual state game) and Kim Rigoll (West Perth Premiership player in 1999 (Captain) and 2003).
1994 - A Grade premiership side, coached by John Dimmer
WEST COAST + COWAN UNIVERITY MERGER
In 2001, West Coast merged with Cowan University, to form West Coast Cowan Amateur Football Club. The success of this merger was confirmed later that year, when West Coast Cowan won the WAAFL's coveted Champion Club award in its inaugural season.
From its City Beach Oval base, West Coast Cowan enjoyed a relatively successful period. The B Reserve team won the 2001 Premiership; the B Colts team were 2003 Premiers; and the West Coast Cowan C League team - which included a number of players from the 2003 Colts Premiers - won the 2006 flag under the guidance of Tom Wagner. Having earned promotion back to B Grade in 2007, the League side achieved the remarkable feat of back-to-back flags that year.
After a number of years in A Grade, West Coast Cowan slipped back to B Grade in 2010. However, after a few years of consolidation on and off the field, with recently-renovated clubrooms, new floodlights and continued player development, the club entrenched itself back in A Grade from 2014, after narrowly losing the 2013 Grand Final to Kalamunda.
After a mixed 2017 season, the club finds itself back in B Grade and ready to consolidate for another tilt at the WAAFL's premier competition in the years ahead. With an outstanding young playing group, quality leadership and a strong club culture, success beckons for "the boys from ol' West Coast".
Since its genesis in 1984, West Coast has won 15 premierships. Including its pre-merger identities, that total rises to has won a total of 32 Premierships, making the Tigers one of most successful clubs in WAAFL history. We look forward to building on that record this year, which marks the club's 34th birthday and the 43 year of amateur football "down by the sea".
2007 - West Coast goes back to back in B Grade, coached by Tom Wagner
2017 - E2 premiership side, coached by Stephen King
Premierships
Floreat Park
1969 - C League
1973 - B Reserve
Marist OLD BOYS
1971 - E Grade
Floreat Marist
1979 - E League
City Beach All Stars
1975 - E League
1981 - C League
T.C. Churchlands
1975 - D Grade
1976 - D Grade
1977 - E Grade
1977 - H Grade
1978 - E Grade
CHURCHLANDS
1983 - F Grade
W.A.C.A.E.
1984 - E Grade
1990 - D Grade
Cowan University
1992 - C Colts
1994 - D Grade
1994 - I Grade
West Coast
1984 - B Colts
1985 - B Colts
1985 - D Colts
1986 - B Colts
1987 - B Grade
1987 - L Grade
1989 - F Grade
1994 - A League
1996 - H League
1997 - F League
West Coast Cowan
2001 - B Reserve
2003 - B Colts
2006 - C League
2007 - B League
West Coast
2017 - E2 Grade
Honours
Club Song
As i was walking down the street one day...
We are from West Coast, down by the sea (boom boom boom)
We are from West Coast, as you will see
At the end of the season you’ll know the reason why we are the premiership team!
With Buschy on the back line
Rakka on the wing
Who kicks it down to Cluney and he drops the bloody thing
Are we good, are we good, are we any bloody good?
We are the boys from old West Coast
Did we win? – We shit it in!
How did we do it? – Eeeeasy!
Where do we come from? – West Coast!
What are we called? – Tigers!
What do we do? – Eat 'em alive!