Current season or competition: 2023 Melbourne Rugby League season | |
Sport | Rugby league |
---|---|
Formerly known as | Victorian Rugby League |
Instituted | 1951 |
Inaugural season | 1952 |
Number of teams | 17 |
Country | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
Premiers | Waverley Oakleigh Panthers (5th title) (2023) |
Most titles | St Kilda Saints RLC (10 titles) |
Website | NRL Victoria website |
The Melbourne Rugby League (currently the Storm Premiership for branding reasons) is a rugby league football competition located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and run by NRL Victoria. As of the 2022 season, there are currently 17 competing teams across the varying age groups who are affiliated with the Melbourne Storm junior system. [1]
The Senior competition features three men's grades and one women's grade.
The 1914 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand included a match in Melbourne, the first rugby league game to be played in the state. The match between England and New South Wales drew 13,000 spectators.
The Victorian Rugby League was running a rugby league premiership by the 1920s, and also selected a representative Victorian XIII to tour domestically.
After the initial Melbourne competition folded, the current competition was inaugurated in 1952 and has been running ever since. [2]
Colours | Clubs | Location | Ground | Founded | Premierships | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | WRL | Jnr |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Altona Roosters | Newport | Bruce Comben Reserve, Altona Meadows | 1987 | 8 (1997, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Casey Warriors | Clyde | Casey Fields, Cranbourne East | 2010 | 1 (2015) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Doveton Steelers | Doveton | Betula Reserve, Doveton | 2001 | 1 (2007) | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
Eastern Raptors | Boronia | Colchester Reserve, Colchester Rd, Boronia | 2011 | 0 | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
Frankston Raiders | Frankston | Peninsula Reserve, Frankston | 2015 | 1 (1983) | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
Geelong Sharks | Geelong | Ervin Reserve, Newcomb | 2023 | 0 | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
Hume Eagles | Craigieburn | Hothlyn Drive Reserve, Craigieburn | 2020 | 0 | No | No | No | No | Yes | |
Melton Broncos | Melton | Mt Carberry Reserve, Melton South | 2013 | 0 | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
Mernda Dragons | Lalor | Huskisson Reserve, Lalor | 2015 | 0 | No | No | No | No | Yes | |
North West Wolves | Niddrie | AJ Davis Reserve, Fullarton Rd, Airport West | 2010 | 0 | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
Northern Thunder | Broadmeadows | Seabrook Reserve, Goulburn St, Broadmeadows | 1999 | 0 | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
Pakenham Eels | Pakenham | Cardinia Recreation Reserve, Cardinia | 2016 | 0 | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
South Eastern Titans | Dandenong | Greaves Reserve, Dandenong | 2007 | 0 | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
Sunbury United Tigers | Sunbury | Langama Park, Sunbury | 1992 | 4 (2009, 2011, 2013, 2014) | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | |
Sunshine Cowboys | Ardeer | More Park, Ardeer | 2016 | 0 | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | |
Truganina Rabbitohs | Truganina | Clearwood Drive Reserve, Truganina | 2015 | 2 (2019, 2022) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | |
Waverley Oakleigh Panthers | Clayton | Fregon Reserve, Clayton | 1976 | 5 (1980, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2023) | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
Werribee Bears | Werribee | Haines Reserve, Werribee | 2008 | 3 (2016, 2017, 2018) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Since the commencement of the competition in 1952, the St Kilda Saints RLC have won the most premierships (10) over all, however, of the current clubs, the most premierships have been won by Altona Roosters (8). [2]
The NRL Victoria women's first grade competition has been run since 2015. The most premierships have been won by Werribee Bears (2). [2]
Season | Premiers | Score | Runners-up |
---|---|---|---|
2015 [16] | South Eastern Titans | ||
2016 [17] | Doveton Steelers | ||
2017 [18] | Truganina Rabbitohs | 28 - 4 | Doveton Steelers |
2018 [19] | Werribee Bears | 14 - 12 | Truganina Rabbitohs |
2019 | Werribee Bears | ||
2020 | Seasons Cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic | ||
2021 | |||
2022 | Werribee Bears | 10 - 6 | Truganina Rabbitohs |
2023 | Casey Warriors | 40 - 4 | Werribee Bears |
NRL Victoria 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.
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