NRL Victoria

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.

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. 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. 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.

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

Goulburn Murray Premiership

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.

Current clubs

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

Former Competitions

Central Highlands Rugby League (2005-2012)

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 clubs

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

Limestone Coast Rugby League (2017-2022)

The Limestone Coast Rugby League was a rugby league competition held in the Wimmera and South West regions of Victoria and Eastern South Australia. The competition was co-administered by NRL SA and NRL Victoria, and featured five clubs (three from Victoria and two from South Australia).

Clubs

Sunraysia-Riverlands Rugby League (1991-2022)

Clubs

The Sunraysia-Riverlands Rugby League is a rugby league competition held in North-Western Victoria.

Future Competitions

Greater Western Premiership

Proposed clubs

Victoria Rugby League Notable Juniors

Altona Roosters
* Jeremy Smith
* Gareth Widdop
* Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
* Kurt Bernard
* Ben Nakubuwai
* Tony Tumusa
* Jamayne Taunoa-Brown
* Shae Ah-Fook
* Troy Hanita-Paki (u20s)
Casey Warriors
* Kelma Tuilagi
North West Wolves
* Greg Marzhew
Northern Thunder
* Young Tonumaipea
* Richard Kennar
* Sualauvi Fa'alogo
South Eastern Titans
* Mahe Fonua
* Kenny Bromwich
* Francis Tualau
Waverley Oakleigh Panthers
* Drury Low
* Denny Solomona
* Pride Petterson-Robati
* Jarred Muller-Dobbe
* Kalin Ropata
* Trent Toelau (u20s)
Sunbury Tigers
* Dean Ieremia
* Fonua Pole
* Sione Finau
Casey Warriors
*Connor Donehue
* Kelma Tuilagi

See also

* Rugby league in Victoria

References

External links

*

Central Highlands Rugby League official site

Goulburn Murray Rugby League official site

Rugby League clubs in Victoria

{{Rugby league in Australia

Rugby league competitions in Australia
Rugby league governing bodies in Australia
Rugby league in Victoria (state)
Sport in Melbourne
Rug
1952 establishments in Australia