| Names | |
|---|---|
| Full name | West London Wildcats |
| Nickname(s) | Wildcats, Cats |
| 2011 season | |
| Home and away season | 1st |
| Leading goalkicker | Adam Broadbent |
| Best and fairest | Adam Broadbent |
| Club details | |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Colours | Navy and White |
| Competition | AFL London Premiership |
| Coach | Dan Prigmore & Nathan Costley |
| Captain(s) | Steven Puhar |
| Premierships | 11 |
| Ground(s) | Barn Elms |
| Other information | |
| Official website | [1] |
| Committee Members | |
|---|---|
| President | Luke Fenney |
| Vice President | Dan Prigmore |
| Treasurer | Ciaran Merrigan |
The West London Wildcats are an Australian rules football and netball club based in London, England. The club fields teams in each of the three AFL London divisions - Premiership, Conference and Social. The reserves team is known as the Shepherds Bush Raiders and wear a green and gold guernsey while the Social team is known as the Ealing Emus and wear a black, red and yellow guernsey. The Wildcats are often regarded as the biggest and most successful Australian rule football club outside of Australia.
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The West London Wildcats were formed in 1990 as a foundation club of the British Australian Rules Football League, now known as the AFL London division of AFL Britain. They have played in a number of BARFL grand finals, finally winning their first premiership in 2000 against arch-rivals, the Wandsworth Demons, the team captained at the time by club stalwart, Chris Schleter. They have since followed this up with premierships in 2004, 2005 and 2006 all against BARFL heavy-weights the Wimbledon Hawks. 2004 saw fullback Rowan Bilkey captain the club. Chris Schleter again captained the premiers in 2005 while in 2006 Ruckman and Barclay Dixon lead his team to the BARFL premiership. The Wildcats stand as the only team to win the BARFL Premiership on three consecutive occasions. In 2004 the team achieved another first in BARFL history by claiming the BARFL 'Grand Slam', winning the Anzac Cup preseason tournament, the Brit Cup and both the Conference and Premier Division Premierships, a feat they repeated in season 2006.
The Wildcats also field a second team, the Shepherds Bush Raiders, in the AFL London Conference competition, and a third side, the Ealing Emus in the AFL London Social division. The Shepherds Bush Raiders have won all but one of the 10 Conference premierships since the competition's inception in 2001. The Raiders are the reigning Premiers and Champions of the Conference division, and were coached by Craig Marshall. The Emu's are the reigning premiers of the Social Division.
The West London Wildcats celebrated 21 years of existence in 2010.
In addition to Australian Rules Football, the Wildkittens netball sides play in a number of competitions across London.
Former Brisbane Bears player Rudi Frigo, recruited to the club by Justin "Dogga" Shannon, is probably the Wildcats best known player.
| Year | Position | President | Coach | Captain | Treasurer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3rd | Greg Sporton | Dave Steadman | Peter Murphy & Dave McGain | Ian Mead |
| 1991 | 4th | Michael Lopes | Dave McGregor | Ian Rakich | David Meaney |
| 1992 | 2nd | Michael Lopes & Barney Ayris | Mark Reid | Michael Lopes | Barney Ayris & Ewen Hill |
| 1993 | 5th | Ross Gregory | Mark Reid | Daryn Jamieson | Ewen Hill |
| 1994 | 2nd | Ross Gregory | Mark Reid | Greg Wylie | Ewen Hill |
| 1995 | 2nd | Ewen Hill | Graeme Watson | Greg Weston-Arnold | Ross Gregory |
| 1996 | 2nd | Ewen Hill | Paul Smith | Paul Geddis | Tomas O'Mongain |
| 1997 | 3rd | Ewen Hill | Darren Isaacs | Paul Geddis | Ross gregory |
| 1998 | 5th | Darren Isaacs | David McAdam | Denis Radetic & Derek Shaw | Derek Shaw |
| 1999 | 2nd | Neil Talbot | Russell Warburton | Shane McDonald | Derek Shaw |
| 2000 | 1st | Neil Talbot | Michael Billing | Chris Schleter | Derek Shaw |
| 2001 | 3rd | Paul Toll | Michael Billing | Chris Schleter | Derek Shaw |
| 2002 | 2nd | Justin Shannon | Lachy Boyd & Cameron Aubrey | Greg Atkinson | Derek Shaw |
| 2003 | 2nd | Justin Shannon | Ross Giardina & Chris Schleter | Chris Schleter | Derek Shaw |
| 2004 | 1st | Jonathon Grapsas | Ross Giardina & Chris Schleter | Rowan Bilkey | Derek Shaw |
| 2005 | 1st | Matt Glynn | Ross Giardina | Chris Schleter | Matt Boyd & Derek Shaw |
| 2006 | 1st | Matt Glynn | Damien Stewart & Ryan Butler | Barclay Dixon | Donna Glynn & Derek Shaw |
| 2007 | 1st | Matt Glynn | Ross Giardina & Chris Schleter | Sam Heffernan & Damien Stewart | Donna Glynn & Derek Shaw |
| 2008 | 1st | Matt Glynn | Xavier McKinnon | Matt Chilton | Donna Glynn |
| 2009 | 1st | Pete Romanis | Justin Main | Dan Nankivell | Anna Rushall |
| 2010 | 3rd | Ben Bond and Troy Cunningham | Dan Nankivell | Nathan Costley | Troy Cunningham |
| 2011 | 1st | Ben Bond | Nathan Costley & Dan Prigmore | Steven Puhar | Matt Ryan |
| 2012 | - | Luke Fenney | - | - | Ciaran Merrigan |
2011 Grand Final Premiership Division West London Wildcats1 13.1(89) Defeated Wandsworth Demons 8.9 (57)
2011 Grand Final Conference Division Shepherds Bush Raiders 17.4 (106) Defeated Clapham Demons 9.13 (67)
2010 Grand Final Conference Division Shepherds Bush Raiders 12.9 (81) def Clapham Demons 7.3 (45)
2010 Grand Social Premiership Division Ealing Emus 7.1 (43) def South London Demons 2.5 (17)
2009 Grand Final Premiership Division 2009 Grand Final Conference Division 2009 Grand Social Premiership Division
2008 Grand Final Premiership Division West London Wildcats 13.8 (86) defeated Putney Magpies 4.3 (27)
Best: Justin 'Maca' McCallion, Ross 'Rosco' Dillon, Leigh 'Burki' Burke, Warrick 'Bloodnut' Fenner, Damien 'Sticky' Lyon, Eoin O'Connor, Xavier 'XMan' McKinnon, Barry 'Baz' Malone
Goals: Leigh Burke, Eoin O'Connor 3, Justin McCallion 2, Sam Miles 1 (others TBC)
Norm Smith Medal: Justin 'Maca' McCallion
2008 Grand Final Conference Division Shepherds Bush Raiders 7.12 (54) defeated Clapham Demons 6.11 (47)
Best: Kade 'Giggz' Nichols, Matty Barr, Pete O'Connel, Marcus 'Willo' Wilson, Shane 'Abbo' Albon, Paul 'Chopper' Donahoo
Goals: Marcus 'Willo' Wilson 3, Kade Nichols 3, Paul Donahoo 1
2008 Grand Final Social Division Ealing Emus 18.17 (125) defeated Nottingham Scorpions 1.5 (11)
Best: Al Carlson, Lucas 'Doof' Cullen, Darryl 'Daz' Disisto, Pete Kasby, Matt Neville, Ryan 'Rhino' Lapish, John Houston, Simon 'Simmo' Berry
Goals: Al Carlson 4, Wes White 3, Casey Ratcliffe, Ryan 'Rhino' Lapish 2, Darryl 'Daz' Disisto, Lucas 'Doof' Cullen, Jeremy 'Jez' Lanberg, Paul 'Cutts' Cutler 1 (others TBC)
Norm Smith Medal: Doof
The Wildcats have played a number of pre-season tour matches across Europe.
| Year | West London Wildcats | Shepards Bush Raiders | Ealing Emus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Adam Broadbent | Fergus Adamson | Joel Siwak |
| 2010 | Dan Prigmore | Matty Ryan | Brett Rizio |
| 2009 | Dan Nankivell | Luke Faull | Patty Kearins |
| 2008 | Matt Chilton | Jono Watson | David Harrington |
2011 Corfu 2010 Corfu 2009 Lagos, Portugal 2008 Corfu 2007 Corfu 2006 Corfu
| Year | Venue | Title Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Amsterdam | No award |
| 1991 | Corfu (Greece) | No award |
| 1992 | Falarki, Rhodes | No award |
| 1993 | Dublin | No award |
| 1994 | Corfu | No award |
| 1995 | Corfu | Rob 'Bubba' Colcroft |
| 1996 | Leamington Spa (Canal trip) | No award |
| 1997 | Liverpool | No award |
| 1998 | Corfu | Matt 'Mighty Mattress' Glynn |
| 1999 | Bodrum (Turkey) | Matt 'Mighty Mattress' Glynn & Chris 'Slates' Schleter |
| 2000 | Corfu | Hayden Bennett |
| 2001 | Corfu | Jason 'Smurf' Dwyer |
| 2002 | Benidorm | Evan 'Unit' Beachley |
| 2003 | Ios | Chris 'Slates' Schleter |
| 2004 | Corfu | Paul 'Cut Snake' Lewis |
| 2005 | Corfu | Chris 'Slates' Schleter |
| 2006 | Corfu | Paul 'Chopper' Donahoo |
| 2007 | Corfu | Matt 'Mighty Mattress' Glynn |
| 2008 | Corfu | Mick 'Uncle' Bulzomi |
| 2009 | Lagos | Mick 'Uncle' Bulzomi |
| 2010 | Corfu | Troy 'Catingham' Cunningham |
| 2011 | Corfu | Jack Russell |