The Senior Men’s competition is set to kick off this weekend, with players taking to the field for the first time in 2025 from Premier Grade, Championship Grade, Belt Up Colts, Community Grade, as well as Reserves, Third Grade and Fourth Grade.
The 2025 season will kick off on Saturday, with all Senior Men’s competitions taking to the field for Round 1. With tough competition, it’s set to be a great year of rugby.
In the Fortescue Men’s Premier Grade, Round 1 promises to be a showcase of talent, with strong competition inbound. With 11 teams in the competition, 2025 will see sides battle to remain in Conference A or move up from Conference B, as the conference-style competition structure remains in play for the second year.
At Allen Park, Associates will find themselves in a Grand Final rematch with Palmyra, coming head-to-head for the first time since Associates’ upset win in September 2024. Associates have seen a strong start to 2025 in the preseason Rendezvous Hotel Perth Scarborough Challenge Cup, beating out Perth Bayswater in the Shield Final 47-14. Palmyra were knocked out of the tournament in Round 2 by Cottesloe, pushing them out of the opportunity to compete for the Challenge Cup after a solid victory in the first round of the preseason. Both sides are shaping up to once again be formidable forces in the Fortescue Premier Grade, with strong lineups and titles to defend.
For 2025 Rendezvous Hotel Perth Scarborough Challenge Cup winners, Nedlands, Round 1 of the Fortescue Premier Grade will see them come up against 2024 Challenge Cup winners, Kalamunda, at Sir Charles Court Reserve. With Nedlands already proving to be the team to beat in 2025, this will be the second time the teams have met this year, following Nedlands’ 71-14 preseason victory over Kalamunda – one of their increasing number of high-scoring wins already in the bag.
Premier Grade matchups this weekend will also see UWA take on Wanneroo at McGillivray Oval, Cottesloe against Perth Bayswater at home, and Wests Scarborough playing Joondalup Brothers at Bennett Park.
Six teams will make up the Championship Grade in 2025, with competition split between Metro Perth, Rockingham and Peel, as well as the South West. Round 1 of the Championship Grade is set to be full of derby-style clashes, with the competition split between local teams for their first meeting in 2025.
Perth Irish will see a double-header at home in Round 1, with their Championship Grade team coming up against 2024 Premiers, ARKS, and their Community Grade team playing against Perth Rams’ returning side after their leave in 2024 for international competition.
Championship Grade Head Coach for Perth Irish, Saul Shanahan, is looking forward to the season ahead, and for the challenge of the kickoff.
“I think the exciting part about this time of the year is no one really knows, you can play warmup matches but you're never going to know where you stand or what areas you’ve made progress in until the end of round one,” Shanahan said, when asked how his team is shaping up.
“Even then it’s a 16 round season so every week you’ll have something to work on aiming to be the best version of this team come the time of year it matters, finals.”
Heading into the Championship Grade season, Shanahan reflects that it’s not just the big games to look forward to, but the environment of the club, and of days which celebrate all age groups.
“The championship is a tight league: in numbers and rivalries so each week offers something big. As well as our player numbers, I think our supporter base gets bigger year-on-year, so I’m really looking forward to big match days, with hopefully our women's team at home and our two men’s teams, as well as the juniors in the morning - can’t wait for big days like that at the club.”
As for who Perth Irish is looking forward to taking on this season, they are looking to avenge their Semi-Final knockout from ARKS.
“The obvious one on everybody’s list is ARKS. Being the reigning champs and having been knocked out in last year's Semi Final by them makes it a solid rivalry, but it’s been a bit too one sided in their favour,” Shanahan shared.
“The rumour mill is flying about Rocky’s off-season recruitment and you can’t speak to someone involved in a Championship club without them bringing it up. I’m told they’re looking every bit like the team to beat so far this season, so it’ll be interesting to size ourselves up against a new look Rocky.”
Perth Irish will get their opportunity for Semi-Final vengance this Saturday, whereas the team-to-beat Rockingham will see themselves come up against 2024 Minor Premiers, Mandurah Pirates, at Lark Hill Sporting Complex after a strong preseason performance. After a strong performance in the Bowl Final for the Rendezvous Hotel Perth Scarborough Challenge Cup, Rockingham enter Round 1 with some serious power. For Mandurah Pirates, they’ll be looking for a repeat of the 2024 season, as they look to secure a Premiership after two seasons of missing out at the last turn, and as they keep pushing towards their transition to Premier Grade.
In the South West, Bunbury Barbarians will come up against Dunsborough-Busselton Dungbeetles at Leschenault Leisure Centre. Bunbury will be looking to kick off their 2025 season strong after their tight loss to ARKS in the 2024 Grand Final, with the Dunsborough-Busselton Dungbeetles looking to cause an early upset in the competition.
Community Grade will see a shakeup in 2024 with not just the return of Perth Rams, but with the newly minted North Coast Sharks Community Men’s side, marking their forray into the senior competition. North Coast will see their first round of competition against ARKS at Harrisdale Pavillion, while 2024 Premiers Rockingham will take on Mandurah, and Bunbury will see Curtin visit to South West.
The Belt Up Colts will see huge growth in their 2025 season, with 7 U20s teams taking to the field. In Round 1, 2024 Premiers Wanneroo will face the UWA Colts, who return to the competition after a year of absence and hoping to secure a win. Associates will tackle Palmyra at Allen Park this weekend, while Wests will face Joondalup Brothers at Bennett Park.
Senior Men’s competition will kick off this weekend, with games across the state. Associates v. Palmyra is set to be streamed live on Stan.
Fixtures for the 2025 season can be accessed here.
