The prospects of Wests looked bright in 1917, built on some encouraging signs from the previous year. The Second-Grade team were runners up in the League Cup in 1916 and some of the young players would be better for the experience. The inclusion of experienced players, Herb Gilbert, Paddy Burns and Jack Redmond was a valuable addition to the players that were already at the Club.
An early assessment of the team in the Arrow newspaper in May 1917 stated; “The truth of the matter is that Western Suburbs, on this form, are an infinitely better side than they ever were before. If they are able to play together in the forwards and in the backs, and one division dovetails into the other as they did against South Sydney in their trial, they are going to provide most excellent football this winter, and to carve out a better record for the Club than any earned in the past.”
Wests performed well in 1917, finishing fourth in the Competition and achieving a result far and beyond that experienced in its previous ten years. Importantly, Wests demonstrated that it could compete with the best teams in the League, just going down to South Sydney in a semi-final of the City Cup competition at the end of 1917.
