| Leaguename: | NRL Victoria |
| Founded: | 1952 |
| Region: | NRL |
| Remit: | Victoria, Australia |
| Headquarters: | Melbourne Rectangular Stadium |
| Comps: | 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: | www.nrlvic.com |
| Countryflag: | Victoria |
| Updated: | 2 December 2009 |
NRL Victoria (abbreviated as NRLVic, and formerly the Victorian Rugby League) is responsible for administering the game of rugby league in Victoria, Australia. 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 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.
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]
See 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.
| Colours | Clubs | Location | Ground | Founded | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altona Roosters | Altona Meadows | Bruce Comben Reserve, Altona Meadows | 1987 | ||
| Casey Warriors | Cranbourne East | Casey Fields, Cranbourne East | 2010 | ||
| Doveton Steelers | Doveton | Betula Reserve, Doveton | 2001 | ||
| Eastern Raptors | Boronia | Colchester Reserve, Colchester Road, Boronia | 2011 | ||
| Frankston Raiders | Frankston | Peninsula Reserve, Frankston | 2015 | ||
| Geelong Sharks | Geelong | Ervin Reserve, Newcomb | 2023 | ||
| Hume Eagles | Craigieburn | Hothlyn Drive Reserve, Craigieburn | 2020 | ||
| Melton Broncos | Melton | Mt Carberry Reserve, Melton South | 2013 | ||
| Mernda Dragons | Lalor | Huskisson Reserve, Lalor | 2015 | ||
| Northern Thunder | Broadmeadows | Seabrook Reserve, Goulburn St, Broadmeadows | 1999 | ||
| North West Wolves | Niddrie | AJ Davis Reserve, Fullarton Rd, Airport West | 2010 | ||
| Peninsula Dolphins | Mount Eliza | To Be Confirmed, To Be Confirmed | 2024 | ||
| Pakenham Eels | Pakenham | Comely Banks Recreation Reserve, Pakenham | 2016 | ||
| Truganina Rabbitohs | Truganina | Clearwood Drive Reserve, Truganina | 2015 | ||
| Waverley Oakleigh Panthers | Clayton | Fregon Reserve, Clayton | 1976 | ||
| Werribee Bears | Werribee | Haines Reserve, Werribee | 2008 | ||
| South Eastern Titans | Dandenong | Greaves Reserve, Dandenong | 2007 | ||
| Sunshine Cowboys | Ardeer | More Park, Ardeer | 2016 | ||
| Sunbury United Tigers | Sunbury | Langama Park, Sunbury | 1992 |
| Colours | Clubs | Premiership/s | Season/s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altona Roosters | 8 | 1997, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 | ||
| Casey Warriors | 1 | 2015 | ||
| Doveton Steelers | 1 | 2007 | ||
| Eastern Raptors | 0 | |||
| Frankston Raiders | 1 | 1983 | ||
| Geelong Sharks | 0 | |||
| Hume Eagles | 0 | |||
| Melton Broncos | 0 | |||
| Mernda Dragons | 0 | |||
| Northern Thunder | 0 | |||
| North West Wolves | 0 | |||
| Peninsula Dolphins | 0 | |||
| Pakenham Eels | 0 | |||
| Truganina Rabbitohs | 2 | 2019, 2022 | ||
| Waverley Oakleigh Panthers | 5 | 1980, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2023 | ||
| Werribee Bears | 3 | 2016, 2017, 2018 | ||
| South Eastern Titans | 0 | |||
| Sunshine Cowboys | 0 | |||
| Sunbury United Tigers | 4 | 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014 |
See main article: Sunraysia-Riverlands Rugby League.
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, Robinvale |
See 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]
There 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 |
See 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]
| Colours | Club | Moniker | Years Participated | Ground | District | State | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
See main article: Central Highlands Rugby League (Victoria).
The 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.
| Colours | Club | Moniker | Years participated | Location | Ground | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ararat | Kings, Cowboys | Ararat | ||||
| Ballarat | Dragons | 2005-2012 | Ballarat | |||
| Bendigo | Tigers | Bendigo | ||||
| Stawell | Devils | Stawell | ||||
| Wendouree | Raiders | Wendouree |
NRL Victoria are currently looking for opportunities for Rugby League in this region as of 2023.
Casey Warriors