The Wentworthville Magpies, colloquially known as Wenty, are an Australian rugby league team based in the suburb of Wentworthville in Sydney's Western Suburbs. Founded in 1963 (or 1937), the club has competed in various Sydney district competitions and, since 2003, the semi-professional Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield competitions in NSW, Australia. The club also fielded a team in the Canterbury Cup NSW as part of a joint-venture with the Parramatta Eels between 2008 and 2019 acting as Parramatta's feeder club.Magpies in deal with Eels, Parramatta Sun, 5 December 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2009Wentworthville 2009, www.parraeels.com.au. Retrieved 18 April 2009
Inter-District/Second Division/Metropolitan Cup During this period Wentworthville ("The Magpies") was the most successful club at this level of competition, competing in every grand final of the Second Division between 1964 and 1973 (winning all but the 1966 and 1972 grand finals).
The club won a total of 8 premierships during the history of the Second Division (including 5 in a row between 1967 and 1971). Due to their domination of the competition 'Wenty' was widely considered the best candidate for promotion to the NSWRL Premiership when two positions were made available for the 1967 competition. Due to their proximity to Parramatta, where a Premiership club was established in 1946, the Magpies were overlooked.Sean Fagan, History of the Cronulla Sharks. Retrieved 11 March 2007
When the Second Division was reorganised as the Metropolitan League in 1974 the Magpies left the competition to play in the Illawarra Rugby League competition, believing they could find greater competition on the South Coast. They failed to repeat this success in the Illawarra competition.The Mick Alchin Interview, www.kellyskids.info. Retrieved 18 April 2009
The club returned to the Sydney competition when it was reorganised as the Metropolitan Cup in 1990, winning premierships in 1998 and 1999.
Wills Cup
Wentworthville had one opportunity to compete against Sydney's first-grade clubs when they were invited, as champions of the 1969 Second Division, to compete in the 1970 NSWRL pre-season competition (then known as the Wills Cup). Second Division 1969 runners-up University of Sydney were also invited to participate.
Wentworthville finished 12th (above Penrith Panthers and University) in the competition with 1 win and 3 losses and a points differential of −21. They played games against Parramatta, University, Penrith and Western Suburbs. Their win came against local rivals Parramatta, winning 12–8 at Cumberland Oval but they failed to defeat fellow Second Division club, University, narrowly losing 19–17.
Despite a promising win against a top-flight side the experiment of inviting Second Division teams to participate in first-grade competitions was not considered a success and was never repeated.
Jim Beam Cup/Bundaberg Red Cup/Ron Massey Cup The Wentworthville Magpies joined the NSWRL Jim Beam Cup in its first year in 2003 and were runners-up to The Entrance Tigers in the 2003 Grand Final.Steve Mascord, Send-off adds salt to the wound, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 October 2003. Retrieved 18 April 2009 In 2009 they won the Bundaberg Red Grand Final against the Cabramatta 'Two' Blues. Since 2009, Wentworthville have won the competition another five times in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2018.
NSWRL State League/Premier League In 2007, Parramatta Eels announced that they would form a joint-venture with the club to play in the NSWRL Premier League/State League. The Team includes players from both the Eels and the Magpies from the Bundaberg Red Cup. The joint-venture won their first Premiership in 2008, defeating the Newtown Jets in Golden Point Extra Time, with the match duration lasting in excess of 100 minutes.Steve Mascord, The Grand Final no one had a clue how to win, Herald Sun, 5 October 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2009
During the 2008 season, such names as internationals Joe Galuvao, Eric Grothe, and Krisnan Inu all played for the club, along with fellow regular first graders Ben Smith, Tim Smith, Junior Paulo, Weller Hauraki and Todd Lowrie among others.
The Magpies and Eels once again joined forces in the NSW Cup in 2009. In addition, the Magpies also fielded a team in the Bundaberg Red Cup (formerly the Jim Beam Cup), with both competitions running concurrently.
Since making the grand final in 2008, Wentworthville have been competitive in The Intrust Super Premiership NSW finishing 2011 in 6th place, 2012 in 4th place, 2013 in 8th place, 2014 in 4th place, 2015 as wooden spooners and in 2016 they finished 9th.
In the 2017 NSW Cup season, Wentworthville missed out on the finals for the third straight year finishing 9th on the table and missing out on the finals by 3 points. In the 2018 NSW Cup season, Wentworthville finished in 10th place on the table missing out on the finals by 2 competition points.
In October 2018, Nathan Cayless resigned as head coach of the club. The Parramatta Eels also announced that they would be ending their partnership with Wentworthville after the conclusion of the 2019 season. Parramatta CEO Bernie Gurr spoke to the media saying "Out of the review we found if we want to be a successful development club we need to have the Parramatta Eels in the ISP. Then you've got a clear one-club mentality". On 2 November 2018, former Parramatta reserve grade and Wentworthville coach Rip Taylor was announced as the new head coach for the 2019 season.
On 22 April 2019, Wentworthville played in the first ever game at the new Western Sydney Stadium which was against Western Suburbs with Wentworthville running out winners 20-14. Wentworthville player Bevan French scored the first ever try at the new venue.
Wentworthville finished the 2019 Canterbury Cup NSW season in eighth position on the table and qualified for the finals. Wentworthville then produced upset victories over Penrith, Canterbury-Bankstown and South Sydney to reach the 2019 Canterbury Cup NSW grand final.
In the grand final against Newtown, Wentworthville would go on to lose the match 20-15 at Bankwest Stadium after extra-time.
Notable Juniors Also see :Category:Wentworthville Magpies players
Notable First Grade Players that have played at Wentworthville Magpies include:
Phil Gould (1976–1986 Penrith Panthers, Newtown Jets, Canterbury-Bankstown & South Sydney Rabbitohs) Lew Zivanovic (1979–86 Penrith Panthers) Scott Pethybridge (1994–2002 Penrith Panthers, Norths, Auckland Warriors) Nathan Cayless (1997–2010 Parramatta Eels) Steven Crouch (1999–2004 Parramatta Eels, Manly-Warringah & Sydney) John Wilson (2000–08 Parramatta Eels, Wests Tigers & Catalans Dragons) Jason Cayless (2000–10 Parramatta Eels, Sydney, St. Helens & Wests Tigers) Chad Robinson (2000–09 Parramatta Eels, Sydney & Harlequins FC) Paul Gallen (2001–2019 Cronulla-Sutherland) Taniela Lasalo (2009– Parramatta Eels) Jorge Tafua (2012– Manly-Warringah, Wakefield Trinity) Ken Sio (2012– Parramatta Eels, Newcastle Knights, Salford Red Devils, Hull Kingston Rovers) Will Skelton (2013– NSW Waratahs) John Asiata (2014– North Queensland Cowboys, Leigh) Manaia Cherrington (2015–2016) Wests Tigers) Fabian Goodall (2016– Manly-Warringah) Ryan Matterson (2016– Sydney Roosters, Wests Tigers, Parramatta) Matt Eisenhuth (2017– Wests Tigers) James Maloney (2009– Melbourne, Auckland Warriors, Eastern Suburbs, Cronulla-Sutherland, Penrith Panthers, Catalans Dragons Catalans Dragons) Haze Dunster (2020– Parramatta Eels) Tom Amone (2019– South Sydney Rabbitohs & Wests Tigers)
Honours Intrust Super Premiership NSW Winner: 2008 Ron Massey Cup (and previous third tier competitions) Winner: (Record) 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019 Minor Premiers: 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1997, 1998, 2009, 2014, 2018, 2019 Sydney Shield Winner: 2012, 2015 Minor Premiers: 2015, 2021, 2025 Second Division Reserve Grade Winner: 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970 Minor Premiers: 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972
Playing Record in NSW Competitions Second Tier The Wentworthville-Parramatta joint venture participated in second-tier, NSWRL competitions for twelve seasons. Year Competition Ladder Finals Position All Match Record Pos Byes Pts P W L D For Agst Diff 2008 NSW Cup 2 0 33 Premiers 25 19 5 1 705 426 279 2009 NSW Cup 3 2 28 Last 4 Preliminary Finalist 23 13 10 0 600 434 166 2010 NSW Cup 6 0 25 Last 6 Semi-Finalist 27 12 14 1 822 757 65 2011 NSW Cup 5 2 29 Last 6 Semi-Finalist 25 12 12 1 582 672 -90 2012 NSW Cup 4 2 32 Last 6 Semi-Finalist 26 14 12 0 846 601 245 2013 NSW Cup 8 2 26 Top 8 Elimination Semi-Finalist 25 11 14 0 683 769 -86 2014 NSW Cup 3 2 34 Last 4 Preliminary Finalist 27 16 11 0 771 730 41 2015 NSW Cup 12 3 18 Wooden Spoon 22 6 16 0 402 627 -225 2016 Intrust Premiership 9 3 26 25 10 12 0 472 573 -101 2017 Intrust Premiership 9 3 24 22 9 13 0 499 465 34 2018 Intrust Premiership 10 2 22 22 9 13 0 436 583 -147 2019 Canterbury Cup 8 1 24 Grand Finalist 26 14 12 9 604 551 53
Third Tier Year Competition Ladder Finals Position All Match Record Pos Byes Pts P W L D For Agst Diff 1963 Inter-District 3 24 Semi-Finalist 19 11 6 2 183 105 78 1964 Second Division 1 0 30 Premiers 20 17 3 0 457 155 302 1965 Second Division 1 0 29 Premiers 19 16 2 1 470 118 352 1966 Second Division 1 0 24 Grand Finalist 1967 Second Division 2 0 22 Premiers 16 13 3 0 374 138 236 1968 Second Division 1 2 30 Premiers 18 17 1 0 412 144 268 1969 Second Division 1 0 27 Premiers 18 15 2 1 421 139 282 1970 Second Division 1 2 38 Premiers 22 20 2 0 520 162 358 1971 Second Division 1 2 38 Premiers 23 20 1 2 692 205 487 1972 Second Division 3 2 38 Grand Finalist 23 19 4 0 717 231 486 1973 Second Division 2 2 36 Grand Finalist 23 19 4 0 659 221 438 1990 Metropolitan Cup 5 15 1991 Metropolitan Cup 2 21 Finalist 1992 Metropolitan Cup 4 2 21 Finalist 18 9 7 2 325 292 33 1993 Metropolitan Cup 9 2 6 Wooden Spoon 16 1 15 0 206 408 -202 1994 Metropolitan Cup 7 0 13 21 6 14 1 416 517 -101 1995 Metropolitan Cup 2 2 30 Grand Finalist 1996 Metropolitan Cup 2 2 28 Finalist 18 12 6 0 506 317 189 1997 Metropolitan Cup 1 20 Finalist 1998 Metropolitan Cup 1 0 26 Premiers 21 16 5 0 508 345 163 1999 Metropolitan Cup 3 22 Premiers 19 14 7 0 491 365 126 2000 Metropolitan Cup 6 0 13 14 6 7 1 371 284 87 2001 Metropolitan Cup 7 3 12 Wooden Spoon 18 3 15 0 324 556 -232 2002 Metropolitan Cup 3 0 16 Semi-Finalist 16 8 8 0 404 316 88 2003 Jim Beam Cup 2 0 34 Grand Finalist 26 18 6 2 898 508 390 2004 Jim Beam Cup 5 2 28 Semi-Finalist 21 12 9 0 612 456 156 2005 Jim Beam Cup 4 3 26 Finalist 22 13 7 2 703 475 228 2006 Jim Beam Cup 3 2 23 Semi-Finalist 18 9 8 1 430 360 70 2007 Jim Beam Cup 5 0 29 Semi-Finalist 24 15 8 1 696 370 326 2008 Jim Beam Cup 7 0 21 22 10 11 1 581 609 -28 2009 Bundaberg Red Cup 1 0 27 Premiers 20 15 4 1 541 394 147 2010 Bundaberg Red Cup 2 0 26 Premiers 24 16 8 0 772 617 155 2011 Bundaberg Red Cup 4 0 22 Elimination Semi-Finalist 22 11 11 0 579 596 -17 2012 Bundaberg Red Cup 2 0 27 Premiers 22 16 5 1 837 396 441 2013 Ron Massey Cup 3 0 30 Premiers 25 18 7 0 916 503 413 2014 Ron Massey Cup 1 0 29 Last 4 Preliminary Finalist 24 15 8 1 764 538 226 2015 Ron Massey Cup 2 2 32 Last 4 Preliminary Finalist 22 15 7 0 638 361 277 2016 Ron Massey Cup 3 2 32 Last 4 Preliminary Finalist 22 15 7 0 668 385 283 2017 Ron Massey Cup 2 7 40 Premiers 21 16 5 0 582 372 210 2018 Ron Massey Cup 1 2 33 Premiers 21 17 3 1 663 314 349 2019 Ron Massey Cup 1 2 38 Premiers 23 20 3 0 691 280 411 2020 Ron Massey Cup N/A 0 2 Competition Cancelled 1 1 0 0 18 14 4 2020 President's Cup 8 1 4 8 1 0 7 122 221 -99
Fourth Tier