Good, bad & ugly: The all-time WA sport club logo rankings

As the Perth Wildcats get set for a refresh of their logo for next season, it got us reminiscing about the very best and very worst of WA sporting teams’ logos over the years. From barely-formed formation logos to the cream of the crop, here’s our countdown from the bad to the brilliant. 23: Westate Wildcats Thankfully, this one was around for just two years - the inaugural two seasons in Wildcats history - before the logo (and bizarre ‘Westate’ name) was changed. It was clearly bound by some constraints, such as the need to specify ‘basketball’ to let people know what the start-up franchise was all about, but the less said about this one the better. 22: Perth Orioles Another one that was limited by constraints, with the ‘Orioles’ moniker in line with the Commonwealth Bank Trophy’s theme of bird-related nicknames for all clubs. But we never even got a chance to see what an oriole looked like in logo form, with the word instead making up the whole logo complete with a giant ‘O’ in the garish combination of bright green, orange and brown. Thankfully, this logo would stand aside after 2007 when the West Coast Fever was born. 21: Early A-League era Perth Glory The switch from the NSL to the A-League was undoubtedly good for Australian soccer, but Glory’s change-up from their old-school logo to this effort was not a winner. The simplified font didn’t work, the sun rays became blinding, and the ‘Perth’ atop the ball was barely visible. An own goal. 20: 2010s Western Warriors A bit too streamlined and simple, and thankfully didn’t last for too long before the ‘Warriors’ nickname was abandoned toward the back end of last decade. 19: Perth Breakers There’s only so much you can do with a breaking wave, and it’s probably why WA’s WNBL team has gone through multiple name changes over the past quarter-of-a-century. There’s not much wrong with this but it lacks any sort of cut-through and isn’t particularly memorable. 18: West Coast Waves See above and rinse and repeat. The 2010 rebrand lasted just five years, with this ‘wave crashing’ effort failing to capture the imagination. 17: 2000s West Coast Eagles This is a divisive one, with the Eagles fan base split between great memories of the 2006 flag and the ‘ochre’ era. Though the Eagle ‘head’ could be detached and used as a standalone symbol, the long rectangle shape was a little awkward with the wings in full extension. What came before and what has come since are both superior. 16: Perth Lynx The Lynx name is better than the aforementioned previous monikers, but is there any chance we could make the cat look a little more fearsome? This one could be mistaken for smiling. 15: Current Perth Glory It’s not as good as the original, but there are some nice elements here as the club leaned into more of a shield shape from 2009. The silver/grey background allows the iconic purple to pop, and making the sun’s rays poking out of the logo - a key element throughout the club’s history - even more pronounced. 14: Current WA cricket It’s a little on the ‘busy’ side, but the monogram is a nice nod to history for a side that’s been competing on the national stage for close to - or more than - half a century longer than most others on this list. 13: West Coast Fever There’s only so much you can do with ‘Fever’, and the Super Netball club have done it well enough with the ‘swishing of the net’ vibe to this logo. 12: Current Perth Wildcats It’s a tough one to knock given the club has won six - yep, six - NBL titles while wearing it. As it gets set for a refresh next season, the main element that could be considered for change is the colour - a distinct lack of red in the logo itself which is surprising given the amount the club associates itself with the shade these days. 11: Inaugural Fremantle Dockers Green for starboard, red for port, and the strength of an anchor. This was a great first-up look for the port club that still plays well as a retro throwback today. 10: Current Fremantle Dockers The anchor remained - and with a ‘D’ inserted - as Freo wisely leaned into making a sole colour of purple their own. Simple is sometimes better. 9: Current Perth Scorchers Speaking of making a colour your own: The Scorchers have done it beautifully with orange. The logo doubles nicely as a cricket ball and the sun on a hot afternoon down at ‘The Furnace’. 8: Current West Coast Eagles A better shape than the previous instalment above, and leaning back into the royal blue and gold that the club owned as it rose to become a ‘90s powerhouse. It doesn’t hurt that the logo’s first year coincided with the 2018 flag success, of course. 7: Perth Heat A true classic that has resisted the temptation for change. The baseball being launched from the west, in the direction of their east-coast rivals, remains simple yet effective. 6: Inaugural West Coast Eagles Another one gazing toward the eastern states with disdain - against the backdrop of the club’s initial theme song that took aim at the “know-alls” and “wise men from the east”. Nothing but straight-up blue and gold in the form of a determined Eagle head. A true classic. 5: Late ‘80s / early ‘90s Perth Wildcats Like the above, this one will always be associated with nostalgic, history-making early 90s’ titles. Basic yet effective, it tapped into WA’s black-and-gold colour history and gave a fearsome look before many other clubs followed suit. 4: Western Force A small tinker notwithstanding, the Force have stayed true to this logo that’s been there since the club’s first game in 2006. It gets extra points for utilising an iconic WA animal in the black swan, which is beautifully wrapped around in the shape of a rugby ball. A powerful image that’s had no need for change. 3: 1990s/2000s Western Warriors The shield. The bat that could be a sword. The popped collar. And the rare human face on a logo (joining only the inaugural Dockers design on this list). In an era of great Sheffield Shield / Mercantile Mutual Cup logos, this was the pick of them. 2: Inaugural Perth Glory Glory arrived on the scene with a bang, thanks in part to the great Bobby D above, but they also nailed the logo / uniform brief. Purple and orange worked from the get-go, and the soccer ball sun with its rays extending beyond the natural shape of the logo was a winner. 1: Mid ‘90s Perth Wildcats If the incoming Wildcats logo is anywhere in the ballpark of this one, fans will be very happy. The growling face, the claw marks in both the ‘A’ of the team nickname and the logo background, and the classic font all combine to create a winner. It was around for less than a decade, but is a timeless classic.

Good, bad & ugly: The all-time WA sport club logo rankings

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