| Full name | Western Cougars Gridiron Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Cougars |
| Strip | Black / Yellow |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Sport | Gridiron (American football) |
| League | Gridiron Queensland |
| First season | 1990 |
| Ground | Wests Centenary Junior Rugby League, 221 Grindle Rd Wacol |
| Club song | {{{song}}} |
| President | Western Cougars |
The Western Cougars are a Gridiron Team competing in the Gridiron Queensland league. They are located in Wacol, Queensland in Brisbane Shire. The Cougars are currently the most successful team in the league with six Sunbowl wins and four losses.
Contents |
The Cougars were formed in 1990 as the Westside Rams and were originally located in the Richlands area. The Cougars went through the 1990 season undefeated winning the junior Sunbowl 28-nil.
At the start of 1991 the club was moved to Carole Park, with American David Brandt as the coach they completed the season with one loss and draw losing the championship 6-nil. The Queensland League hosted the National Gridiron Championships in 1991. Eleven players from the Rams were selected as the Australian National Junior Champions.
Two new coaches from California Todd Schultz and Jason Ramsey joined the club in 1992 and a new senior team was fielded called the Cougars. The Rams lost two games in 1992 and the Junior Sunbowl 31-16. Eleven juniors were selected for the Queensland state team.
1993 saw the move to Ipswich and the presence of Tony Hart an American College player as coach. The Rams again won all their season games only to be beaten in the Sunbowl Championship 12-nil. Twelve Rams were selected for the Qld State Juniors.
In 1994 three of the original Rams Brian Dagg; Jamie Gibson and Daniel Booth took over coaching the club. The Rams won the Sunbowl again with a score of 26-6. The Queensland state team selected seventeen Rams for the team. Three Cougars were selected for the state team.
1995 brought two Americans Tony LoForte; Greg Agnew and one Canadian player;Sean Hagerty to the club.
In 1996 saw the Rams win the Sunbowl once again with a great season.
In 1997 saw coaching by Todd Schultz with another Sunbowl win for the Rams.
In 1998 the Rams did not field a team although the Cougars won the Sunbowl.
1999 brought a return of the Rams and a near miss on the Sunbowl for both teams
2000 saw another year without the Rams, with the Cougars becoming Sunbowl Champions.
2001 the Rams changed names to the Cougars Juniors and the Seniors narrowly missing the Sunbowl to the Stingrays. Junior, Luke Smith was awarded league Linebacker of the year and rookie of the year for the club.
In 2002 the Cougars Seniors became Sunbowl champions once again.
In 2003 the Ipswich Cougars produced 13 Queensland and 8 Australian Representatives. The Cougars Seniors remained Sunbowl Champions.
In 2004 the Sunbowl remained in the hands of the Cougars.
In 2005 Cougars Junior won 4 games and lost 8 for a total of 8 points. Cougars Senior won 8 lost 4 for a total of 16 points.
In 2006 Ipswich fielded 4 Queensland Juniors Representatives. Cougars Junior placed 2nd to last on the ladder with 3 wins 9 losses for a total of 6 points, with Joel Keep receiving the award for Junior Linebacker. Cougars Senior placed 2nd to last with 4 wins, 6 losses and 2 draws for a total of 10 points.
In 2007 Two Queensland Juniors Representatives were selected; BJ Albany and Andrew McEwan, Seniors played a 1-11-0 season and juniors 5-6-1 with the juniors barely missing out on the playoffs by one point.
The Cougars won their 2nd Seniors consecutive wooden spoon with a 1-10-1 season.
In 2009 the Cougars renamed themselves the Western Cougars and moved from Ipswich back to Brisbane (Wacol) to share facilities with Wests Centenary Junior Rugby League Club. The Cougars also changed colours from Purple/Yellow to Black/Yellow. The senior team won 6 games in a row in the middle of the season to recover from an 0-3 start to the year but lost their semi final to the Gold Coast Stingrays 21-13, who won their 4th consecutive Sun Bowl.