NRL Victoria (abbreviated as NRLVic, and formerly the Victorian Rugby League) is responsible for administering the game of rugby league in the Australian state of Victoria. Victoria is an Affiliated State of the overall Australian governing body the National Rugby League. The VRL commenced in 1952 and has been running each year since.
| NRL Victoria | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1952 |
| Responsibility | Victoria, Australia |
| Headquarters | AAMI Park, Melbourne Storm Offices, Melbourne |
| Competitions | First Grade, Second Grade, Third Grade, Womens Tackle, Womens Tag, Girls Tag, Under 18, Under 17, Under 16, Under 15, Under 14, Under 13, Under 12, Under 11, Under 6-10 |
| Website | https://www.nrlvic.com/ |
 | |
As of 2 December 2009 | |
NRL Victoria solely administers the Storm Premiership in Melbourne, the Sunraysia-Riverlands Rugby League, and the Murray Cup Rugby League competitions. It also jointly administers the Limestone Coast Rugby League with NRL South Australia.
Prior to 2013 NRL Victoria was known as the Victorian Rugby League before the NRL completed a full rebranding exercise and renamed all affiliate states.
Over the years the VRL have produced a number of juniors for the Melbourne Storm, SG Ball, NYC and NRL teams.
Rugby League Centre of Excellence
editNRL Victoria is currently headquartered at Victoria's Rugby League Centre of Excellence at Seabrook Reserve in Broadmeadows, which also serves as the administration base for Touch Football Victoria and as the home ground for Northern Thunder. Construction commenced in 2021 and was completed in 2023, at the cost of $16.9 million.[1] The facility additionally serves as a hub for rugby league programs and a venue for training, camps and state and national level tournaments, and is also set to serve as the home ground of any future Melbourne Storm NRL W team.[2][3] Features of the facility include a show pitch, three community access competition pitches, a female-friendly pavilion including high-performance training and recovery facilities, and car parking.[4][5][6]
The Melbourne Rugby League has been running since the 1950s. RAAF Ballarat were the inaugural premiers with the Waverley Oakleigh Panthers being the most recent in 2023. The competition was rebranded in 2022 to become the Storm Premiership, aligning with the strong Storm identity for Rugby League in Victoria.
Current Clubs
edit| Colours | Clubs | Location | Ground | Founded | Premierships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Altona Roosters | Altona Meadows | Bruce Comben Reserve, Altona Meadows | 1987 | 8 (1997, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012) |
 | Casey Warriors | Cranbourne | Casey Fields, Cranbourne East | 2010 | 1 (2015) |
 | Doveton Steelers | Doveton | Betula Reserve, Doveton | 2001 | 1 (2007) |
 | Eastern Raptors | Boronia | Colchester Reserve, Colchester Rd, Boronia | 2011 | 0 |
 | Frankston Raiders | Frankston | Peninsula Reserve, Frankston | 2015 | 1 (1983) |
 | Geelong Sharks | Geelong | Ervin Reserve, Newcomb | 2023 | 0 |
 | Hume Eagles | Craigieburn | Hothlyn Drive Reserve, Craigieburn | 2020 | 0 |
 | Melton Broncos | Melton | Mt Carberry Reserve, Melton South | 2013 | 0 |
 | Mernda Dragons | Lalor | Huskisson Reserve, Lalor | 2015 | 0 |
 | Northern Thunder | Broadmeadows | Seabrook Reserve, Goulburn St, Broadmeadows | 1999 | 0 |
 | North West Wolves | Niddrie | AJ Davis Reserve, Fullarton Rd, Airport West | 2010 | 0 |
 | Peninsula Dolphins | Mount Eliza | TBC | 2024 | 0 |
 | Pakenham Eels | Officer | Comely Banks Recreation Reserve, Officer | 2016 | 0 |
 | Truganina Rabbitohs | Truganina | Clearwood Drive Reserve, Truganina | 2015 | 2 (2019, 2022) |
 | Waverley Oakleigh Panthers | Clayton | Fregon Reserve, Clayton | 1976 | 5 (1980, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2023) |
 | Werribee Bears | Werribee | Haines Reserve, Werribee | 2008 | 3 (2016, 2017, 2018) |
 | South Eastern Titans | Dandenong | Greaves Reserve, Dandenong | 2007 | 0 |
 | Sunshine Cowboys | Ardeer | More Park, Ardeer | 2016 | 0 |
 | Sunbury United Tigers | Sunbury | Langama Park, Sunbury | 1992 | 4 (2009, 2011, 2013, 2014) |
Clubs
editThe Sunraysia-Riverlands Rugby League is a rugby league competition held in North-Western Victoria.[7]
| Colours | Club | Town | Ground |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Mildura Tigers | Mildura | Nichols Point Reserve, Nichols Point |
 | Mildura Warriors | Mildura | Nichols Point Reserve, Nichols Point |
 | Robinvale Storms | Robinvale | Robinvale Sports Ground |
The Murray Cup is a rugby league competition on the border of Victoria and New South Wales. Initially the competition was established in 1998 as the Goulburn Murray Rugby League by the Country Rugby League and the Victorian Rugby League. The league was disbanded in 2009 before being re-established as the Murray Cup in 2015. As of 2022 there is a competition for both Senior Men's and Women's Tag football.[8]
Current Clubs
editThere are currently seven clubs affiliated with the Murray Cup competition.
| Clubs | Moniker | Ground | Men's | LLT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Border | Bears | Haydon Park, West Albury | Yes | Yes |
 Charles Sturt University | Mud Dogs | Sarvaas Park, North Albury | Yes | Yes |
 Corowa | Cougars | Airport Oval, Corowa | Yes | Yes |
 Shepparton | Eagles | Vibert Street Oval | Yes | Yes |
 Tumbarumba | Greens | Tumbarumba Showground | Yes | Yes |
 Wangaratta | Knights | Glenrowan Recreation Reserve | Yes | Yes |
 Wodonga | Wombats | Baranduda Recreation Reserve | Yes | Yes |
| Wolfpack RLFC | Wolfpack | Eldorado Recreation Reserve | Yes | Yes |
The Limestone Coast Rugby League is a rugby league competition held in the Wimmera and South West regions of Victoria and Eastern South Australia. The competition is co-administered by NRL SA and NRL Victoria, and features five clubs (three from Victoria and two from South Australia).[9]
Clubs
edit| Colours | Club | Moniker | Years Participated | Ground | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Blue Lake | Knights | Apollo Soccer Grounds | Mount Gambier, South Australia | |
| | Gunditjmara | Bulls | Deakin University | Warrnambool, Victoria | |
| | Naracoorte | Jets | Naracoorte United Soccer Ground | Naracoorte, South Australia | |
 | Stawell | Mounties | North Park | Stawell, Victoria | |
| | Warrnambool | Raiders | Friendly Societies Park | Warrnambool, Victoria |
Former Competitions
editThe Central Highlands Rugby League (Victoria)|Central Highlands Rugby League (CHRL)]] was a rugby league competition in western Victoria. It covered an area centred on Ballarat, stretching north to Creswick, south to Warrnambool, east to Bacchus Marsh, and west to Horsham.
The CHRL competition started with two junior age levels but in 2008 due to the 11-year drought finally taking its toll on Central Victoria the council deemed the sports grounds used in the competition too dangerous for use. This temporarily ended competition for the CHRL (and some clubs in other sports too). After another two years of the fields not being used the councils re-allocated the fields to other purposes, ending the ability for clubs in the CHRL to continue until new home grounds are established.
Former Clubs
edit| Colours | Club | Moniker | Years participated | Location | Ground |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Ararat | Kings, Cowboys | Ararat | ||
 | Ballarat | Dragons | 2005-2012 | Ballarat | Doug Dean Reserve, Delacombe |
| | Bendigo[citation needed] | Tigers | Bendigo | ||
| | Stawell | Devils | Stawell | ||
| | Wendouree | Raiders | Wendouree | Doug Dean Reserve, Delacombe |
NRL Victoria are currently looking for opportunities for Rugby League in this region as of 2023.[citation needed]
Victoria Rugby League Notable Juniors
edit- Jeremy Smith[10]
- Gareth Widdop[11]
- Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad[12]
- Kurt Bernard
- Ben Nakubuwai
- Tony Tumusa
- Jamayne Taunoa-Brown
- Shae Ah-Fook
- Troy Hanita-Paki (u20s)
Casey Warriors
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Rugby League Centre Builds Momentum For Women, Youth". Premier of Victoria. Victorian Government. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ Walter, Brad (10 October 2019). "New $12m facility to boost Storm's NRLW bid". National Rugby League. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ "The Perfect Storm For Rugby League In Victoria". Premier of Victoria. Victorian Government. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ "New Field of Dreams for rugby league in Victoria". Melbourne Storm. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ Ward, Roy (13 April 2018). "Storm chase NRL Women's licence for new state training centre". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ "Rugby league set to take Broadmeadows by storm". Sport and Recreation Victoria. Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ "Association: Sunraysia Rugby League". www.playrugbyleague.com. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
- ^ "Association: Murray Cup". www.playrugbyleague.com. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/mtgambierrl [user-generated source]
- ^ Jenkinson, Lance (19 April 2015). "Altona Roosters plan to make it a year to remember". Maribyrnong Star Weekly. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015.
- ^ Jenkinson, Lance (19 April 2015). "Altona Roosters plan to make it a year to remember". Maribyrnong Star Weekly. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015.
- ^ Rashneel Kumar. "Rising Kuki star signed by Warriors". Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Local Young Gun to Stay with Storm". Melbourne Storm. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ "Richard Kennar". Melbourne Storm. 15 April 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ Meade, Michaela (18 May 2021). "Thunder star signs with Storm". Northern Star Weekly. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "Mahe Fonua". Melbourne Storm. 15 April 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ "Drury Low". The Bulldogs. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.