NRL Victoria

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.

Not to be confused with Rugby Victoria.
NRL Victoria
Founded1952
ResponsibilityVictoria, Australia
HeadquartersAAMI Park, Melbourne Storm Offices, Melbourne
CompetitionsFirst 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
Websitehttps://www.nrlvic.com/
Victoria (state)
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

NRL 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]

Storm Premiership
Main article: Melbourne Rugby League

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
Colours Clubs Location Ground Founded Premierships
Altona Roosters Newport Bruce Comben Reserve, Altona Meadows 1987 8 (1997, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012)
Casey Warriors Clyde 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
Pakenham Eels Pakenham Cardinia Recreation Reserve, Cardinia 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)

Sunraysia-Riverlands Rugby League
Main article: Sunraysia-Riverlands Rugby League

Clubs

The 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

Goulburn Murray Rugby League
Main article: Goulburn Murray Rugby League

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

There are currently seven clubs affiliated with the Murray Cup competition.

Clubs Moniker Ground Men's LLT
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
Wolfpack RLFC Wolfpack Eldorado Recreation Reserve Yes Yes
Tumbarumba Greens Tumbarumba Showground No Yes
Wangaratta Knights Glenrowan Recreation Reserve Yes Yes
Wodonga Wombats Baranduda Recreation Reserve Yes Yes

Limestone Coast Rugby League
Main article: Limestone Coast Rugby League

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
Club Moniker Home 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

Central Highlands Rugby League
Main article: Central Highlands Rugby League (Victoria)

The 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 Central Highlands Rugby League Clubs
Colours Club Suburb Ground
Ararat Kings/Cowboys Ararat
Ballarat Dragons Ballarat Doug Dean Reserve
Stawell Devils Stawell
Wendouree Raiders Wendouree Doug Dean Reserve

Proposed Clubs
Colours Club Suburb Ground
Bendigo Tigers Bendigo

NRL Victoria are currently looking for opportunities for Rugby League in this region as of 2023.

Victoria Rugby League Notable Juniors

Altona Roosters

Casey Warriors

North West Wolves

Northern Thunder

South Eastern Titans

Waverley Oakleigh Panthers

Sunbury Tigers

Casey Warriors

See also

References
  1. "Rugby League Centre Builds Momentum For Women, Youth". Premier of Victoria. Victorian Government. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  2. Walter, Brad. "New $12m facility to boost Storm's NRLW bid". National Rugby League. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  3. "The Perfect Storm For Rugby League In Victoria". Premier of Victoria. Victorian Government. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  4. "New Field of Dreams for rugby league in Victoria". Melbourne Storm. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  5. Ward, Roy. "Storm chase NRL Women's licence for new state training centre". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  6. "Rugby league set to take Broadmeadows by storm". Sport and Recreation Victoria. Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  7. "Association: Sunraysia Rugby League". www.playrugbyleague.com. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  8. "Association: Murray Cup". www.playrugbyleague.com. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  9. https://www.facebook.com/mtgambierrl
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Rashneel Kumar. "Rising Kuki star signed by Warriors". Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  13. Rashneel Kumar. "Rising Kuki star signed by Warriors". Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  14. "Local Young Gun to Stay with Storm". Melbourne Storm. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  15. "Richard Kennar". Melbourne Storm. 15 April 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  16. Meade, Michaela (18 May 2021). "Thunder star signs with Storm". Northern Star Weekly. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  17. "Mahe Fonua". Melbourne Storm. 15 April 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  18. "Drury Low". The Bulldogs. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
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