The Warlawuurru Cup, formerly known as the East Pilbara Cup, aims to showcase the best young talent the Pilbara has to offer with West Coast Eagles academies staff travelling from Perth to see the regional players firsthand.

This was the third year for the carnival with the new Warlawuurru title translating directly to “Eagle” in Martu language, a change which further deepened the Club’s connection to the region whilst also showcasing the work of Eagles staff embedded in the Pilbara.

Year-on-year the carnival has seen continual growth and collaboration between various organisations from across the Pilbara region, all aiming to provide these young footballers with an opportunity to represent their local communities and for some being the only structured age-appropriate carnival throughout the year.

The level of cooperation was highlighted with this year’s cup reached a staggering 31 stakeholders involved with BHP, the Shire of East Pilbara, Ngurra Kujungka, Country Football WA, Cricket WA, the Y, Stephen Michael Foundation and many more all playing pivotal roles on the day.

For the second year running, SEDA College WA students from the West Coast Eagles Sports Development Program assisted with the carnival, playing an active role working alongside Community and Game Development staff on the day.

Local partners and emergency services were also present, providing activities on the sidelines to keep players and the younger kids in attendance entertained between games whilst promoting the important services they provide to the community and beyond.

West Coast Eagles Newman Youth Engagement Coordinator Brendon Daily put in a mountain of work facilitating the carnival alongside many of these stakeholders and was thrilled to see it all pay off with a fantastic day for all involved.

“The opportunity for the kids in these regional areas can be limited, so at the West Coast Eagles we want to provide the same opportunities that metro kids get in the regions and that’s where the importance of these carnivals is really spot lit,” he said.

“They’re in a situation where they’re playing most weeks against the same faces, so this carnival gives them the opportunity to play against kids from different communities.

“Outside of the football, the ability to get together 30-plus stakeholders from Newman and the surrounding areas to put this carnival together is just sensational.”

Boys from Newman, the Western Desert, Tom Price and Paraburdoo made up the three male teams with the Western Desert squad being the grand final winners and taking home the 2024 Warlawuurru Cup trophy.

Girls from all the Pilbara communities were mixed into two teams and played three games throughout the day, with a huge increase in female numbers allowing for full sized games for the first time in the carnival’s history.

“The first carnival there wasn’t any girls competition at all and last year we had a 10-on-10 game with the girls. This year we’re rolling out 16 a side games so the growth of female footy and the interest amongst the communities and in Newman is just awesome,” Daily said.

Inaugural West Coast Eagles AFLW player and current Ngurra Kujungka staff member Brianna Green highlighted the significant growth of female football within the Pilbara and reinforced the importance of these types of events for regional communities.

“During school holidays we want to engage as many kids as possible to play sport so we’re really fortunate to get quite a few numbers with both the boys and the girls teams,” Green said.

“I think these events are huge just to bring everyone together and we’ve got different organisations that create different opportunities and education pieces to all the communities out here.

“It’s awesome to see the number of girls we’re getting each and every year keep growing and growing. When girls can see, especially with the AFLW coming through, that there’s opportunities for them as well they can really aspire to grab it with both hands.”

The West Coast Eagles are proud to work alongside our Youth Engagement Partner in BHP, providing football opportunities for youth through collaboration with key stakeholders and building stronger connections and communities across WA.