# 2021 Western Premier League season

The 2021 Western Premier League, also called the Burmac Western Premier League for sponsorship reasons, was the 21st season of the Western Premier League (WPL), the top football league in the Central West region of New South Wales. It was the second consecutive year that the competition ran, after an eight-year hiatus. Dubbo Bulls were the defending champions after defeating city rivals Macquarie United in the grand final at Apex Oval, whilst Macquarie United were the defending premiers.
The season saw the competition expand to nine teams for this season, two more than last year, with the addition of four-time champions Orange Waratahs, who last played in the WPL during the 2012 season, and Mudgee Wolves, who last played in the WPL during the 1997 season.
The season was ultimately cancelled after 17 rounds due to COVID-19 lockdown and no title was awarded. At the time of the competition's cancellation, Orana Spurs lead the competition two points ahead of Orange Waratahs, with just one round to play before finals.

## Season summary

The 2021 season kicked-off with an Orange local derby when Orange Waratahs, who was making its return to the WPL, played Barnstoneworth United at Waratah Sports Ground. The match finished 1-all.
In July, following a COVID-19 lockdown for the Orange, Blayney and Cabonne local government areas, the round 15 match between Panorama and Barnstoneworth United was postponed, with Macquarie United and Parkes Cobras postponed too, as the latter had a number of players living or working in the Cabonne area.
The entire final round of the competition, scheduled to be played on 14 August, was postponed due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Dubbo. The final round was originally pushed back by one week but as the Dubbo lockdown continued and all of New South Wales was put into lockdown on 14 August, the competition was postponed indefinitely. After the announcement that the lockdown for regional New South Wales would be extended to September, the competition was ultimately abandoned on August 26. While Orana Spurs lead Orange Waratahs by two points on the ladder, no title was officially awarded.

## Teams
### Home venues and locations

| Team | Location | Home ground |
| Barnstoneworth United | Orange | Jack Brabham Park |
| Dubbo Bulls | Dubbo | Lady Cutler Oval |
| Lithgow Workmen's | Lithgow | Marjorie Jackson Oval |
| Macquarie United | Dubbo | Hans Claven Oval |
| Mudgee Wolves | Mudgee | Glen Willow Regional Sports Stadium |
| Orana Spurs | Dubbo | Lady Cutler Oval |
| Orange Waratahs | Orange | Waratah Sports Ground |
| Panorama | Bathurst | Proctor Park |
| Parkes Cobras | Parkes | Woodward Oval |

### Personal and kits

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Kit sponsor |
| Barnstoneworth United | Josh Ward | Duncan Logan | KonQa | Tilstons Electrical |
| Dubbo Bulls | James Leonard Kobe Rapley | James Leonard Kobe Rapley | | Lindsay Mumford Suzuki |
| Lithgow Workmen's | Brad Luka | Brad Luka | Kookaburra | Hunter Mining Methods |
| Macquarie United | Paul Crain | Rhys Osborne | Puma | Castlereagh Hotel, Dubbo |
| Mudgee Wolves | Christopher Clegg Harry Hall Chad Bowmaker | Lindsay Henderson | Gioca | Kelly's Irish Pub, Mudgee |
| Orana Spurs | Benjamin Mason | Jared Corby | Puma | South Dubbo Tavern |
| Orange Waratahs | Adam Scimone | Adam Scimone | | Country Fruit Distributors |
| Panorama | Brent Osborne | Ricky Guihot | Nike | Agile Arbor Tree Services |
| Parkes Cobras | Meghan Kempson | Brent Tucker | Goosey | Coachman Hotel Motel, Parkes |

## Regular season
### Ladder

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Orana Spurs | 15 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 47 | 23 | +24 | 37 |
| 2 | Orange Waratahs | 15 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 43 | 26 | +17 | 35 |
| 3 | Dubbo Bulls | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 40 | 25 | +15 | 30 |
| 4 | Barnstoneworth United | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 22 | +12 | 25 |
| 5 | Parkes Cobras | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 29 | 32 | −3 | 18 |
| 6 | Panorama | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 30 | 36 | −6 | 18 |
| 7 | Macquarie United | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 30 | 38 | −8 | 14 |
| 8 | Mudgee Wolves | 16 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 27 | 48 | −21 | 8 |
| 9 | Lithgow Workmen's | 15 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 20 | 50 | −30 | 8 |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BU | DB | LW | MQ | MW | OS | OW | PA | PC |
| Barnstoneworth United | — | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | Canc. | 2–3 | 5–0 | 3–3 |
| Dubbo Bulls | 2–1 | — | 7–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–2 |
| Lithgow Workmen's | 3–3 | 0–6 | — | 3–2 | 0–6 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | Canc. |
| Macquarie United | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | — | 3–1 | 3–4 | Canc. | 3–3 | 2–3 |
| Mudgee Wolves | 0–7 | 4–4 | 1–4 | 0–2 | — | 2–2 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 0–2 |
| Orana Spurs | 1–0 | 1–2 | 6–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | — | 4–2 | 7–2 | 5–3 |
| Orange Waratahs | 1–1 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 8–5 | 3–1 | 3–1 | — | 2–1 | 3–1 |
| Panorama | 1–1 | Canc. | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–4 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 |
| Parkes Cobras | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 4–4 | — |

## Top goal scorers

    As of 11 August 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Alec Bateson | Parkes Cobras | 10 |
| 1 | Jacob Soetens-Chidiac | Panorama | 10 |
| 3 | Brody Austin | Dubbo Bulls | 9 |
| 3 | Justin Gibson | Orana Spurs | 9 |
| 3 | Craig Sugden | Orange Waratahs | 9 |
| 6 | Guy Burgess | Orange Waratahs | 8 |
| 8 | Joel Sutton | Macquarie United | 7 |
| 8 | Kenny McCall | Barnstoneworth United | 7 |
| 8 | Joel Tongue | Orana Spurs | 7 |
| 8 | Jake Ferguson | Orana Spurs | 7 |