Karratha Kats and Falcons on the hunt for long-lost Derby Cup ahead of 40th anniversary match

The Karratha Kats and Falcons are calling on the Pilbara community to help find a missing piece of local footy history: the derby Cup, which hasn’t been seen in more than a decade.

With the 40th anniversary of the in-season derby fast approaching on June 21, both clubs are hoping to recover the original trophy.

“I found the cup in 2007 when we were doing a clean-out,” Falcons committee member Peta Mott said.

“It was pretty damaged, so I gave it to (local business) Keyspot to fix, and I don’t recall seeing it after that.

“But the cup was last confirmed seen in 2012.”

“I would say a player or somebody had a good night after a game and thought to themselves ‘Oh, I’ll take that back’, and as people do, they just forgot about it, or it’s in a cupboard somewhere — in a box or in the shed.”

Despite extensive efforts by both clubs, the cup has not resurfaced.

Beyond its symbolic value, the trophy also serves as an important historical record.

Engraved on it are the results of derby matches between the Kats and Falcons — information that is otherwise difficult to trace because of the region’s highly transient population.

The Kats and Falcons are going halves on the cost of a new cup, which will be presented by 1985 Falcons captain Mitchell Thomas at the upcoming derby.

“We’re going to put scores around the bottom and replicate the cup. As scores come to light, we will put them on, but it would really be nice if the cup was found somewhere, because then we could get all that history,” Ms Mott said.

“It’s only been the last four games that we’ve actually beaten Kats, so that was sort of another trigger, to get a bit of red on to the cup.

“If someone does have the cup, we would appreciate if they could send in photos from near or far so we can get the new one updated before June 21.”