Taylor Turns Twenty!

The 2008 Season marks 25 years of organised Gridiron in New South Wales but the West Sydney Pirates have a milestone of their own. This season marks the twentieth consecutive season of Pirate football for Head Coach, Ian Taylor.

Taylor started as a player way back in 1989 before moving into Administrative and Coaching roles with the Club.

While there are other people in the League who have longer tenure, Coach Taylors 20 years with the one Club is something of a record, and one in which he and the Club have every reason to be proud.

In the weeks ahead we will look at Coach Taylors time with the Pirates and reflect on the highs and lows of his time in the Silver and Black.

2007 Season Records Updated

Our Club records have now been updated to include those records set during the Pirates 2007 season. Both Club and Individual records can be accessed through our History Index which you can go to by selecting the History button on the Home Page.

4 x Champions - Wolfpack Win Again!!

The New South Wales Wolfpack are once again National Champions after a nail-biting 17-16 overtime win against the Victorian Eagles. The win makes it four consecutive National titles, with the last three being against Victoria.

The Victorian Eagles were undefeated coming into the Championship decider, including a 37-7 drubbing of the Wolfpack in the preliminary rounds, but the boys from New South Wales fought back from a 10-3 deficit to tie the score and send the game into overtime.

Once into overtime New South Wales made the most of their opportunity and the rest, as they say, is history!

Our congratulations go to all involved with the Wolfpack!

The Pirates were well represented on the squad with Coach John Pongrac acting as Offensive Coordinator and the following players on the team -

Tak King (RB), Shannon Lynch (DL), Ivan Popovic (WR), Patrick Rafter (WR), Zeaid Robi (DB), Sim Tooala (LB),

Dean Toskoski (WR), Dean Valesini (DL), David Ward (QB), Sean White (LB), Marcelo Yato (LB)

Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk!

Former Pirate player, Nathan DCunha, is getting a lot of attention after accepting a football scholarship from Kansas University.

Follow this link to see what the local Kansas media is saying about Nathan and the Jayhawks as they prepare for their 2008 season - K U Sports

New Committee to Set the Path

A new Club Committee was elected at the Annual General Meeting held recently, and they have the task to carry on the good work established in 2007. Head by Wesley Folitarik who was returned as Club President, the Committee will focus on the smooth running of both the Trojans and Pirates in the Colts and Division 1 competitions respectively. The new Committee is -

Wesley Folitarik (President), David Ward (Vice President), Sean White (Secretary), Kim King (Treasurer), and Josh Finn (Media and Recruitment Manager).

We wish them well and look forward to continued Club success both on and off the field.

Officiating Accolades

Pirates Member, Darrin Mitchell, has been a Player, a Coach, and an Administrator, and in 2007 he turned his attention to full-time Officiating. As most people would know, Officiating is often a thankless task but without them the game doesnt exist!

Its pleasing to report that Darrin was so successful in his first year in the role that he was awarded the title of Gridiron N.S.W. Official of the Year.

Added to that, he was appointed to the Officiating Crew for the 2008 National Championships to be held on the Gold Coast in April.

Our congratulations go to Darrin on a job well done, and our best wishes for a successful 2008 campaign.