NRL Victoria


NRL Victoria 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 administers the Storm Premiership in Melbourne, and the regional Goulburn Murray Storm Premiership competitions.
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 NRLW team. The facility includes 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. The competition was rebranded in 2022 to become the Storm Premiership, aligning with the strong Storm identity for Rugby League in Victoria.
RAAF Ballarat were the inaugural premiers while the Truganina Rabbitohs are the most recent premiers in 2024.

Current clubs

ColoursRugby League ClubsLocationHome GroundFounded--
Altona RoostersAltona MeadowsBruce Comben Reserve1987--
BendigoCrushers2024Epsom Huntly Recreation ReserveBendigoVictoria
Casey WarriorsCranbourne EastCasey Fields2010--
Doveton SteelersDovetonBetula Reserve2001--
Eastern RaptorsBoroniaColchester Reserve2011--
Frankston RaidersFrankstonRiviera Reserve2015--
Geelong SharksGeelongErvin Reserve2023--
Hume EaglesCraigieburnBridges Recreation Reserve2020--
Melbourne StormMelbourneCasey Fields1997--
Melton BroncosMeltonMt Carberry Reserve2013--
Mernda DragonsLalorHuskisson Reserve2015--
Northern ThunderBroadmeadowsSeabrook Reserve1999--
North West WolvesNiddrieAJ Davis Reserve2010--
Peninsula DolphinsMount ElizaTo Be Confirmed2024--
Pakenham EelsPakenhamComely Banks Recreation Reserve2016--
Truganina RabbitohsTruganinaClearwood Drive Reserve2015--
Waverley Oakleigh PanthersClaytonFregon Reserve1976--
Werribee BearsWerribeeHaines Reserve2008--
South Eastern TitansDandenongGreaves Reserve2007--
Sunshine CowboysArdeerMore Park2016--
Sunbury United TigersSunburyLangama Park1992--

Goulburn Murray Storm 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 2025 the competition was renamed to the Goulburn Murray Storm Premiership and consists of 7 teams for the Senior Men's league and 8 teams for the Women's Tag league.

Current clubs

There are currently eight clubs affiliated with the competition.
ClubsMonikerGroundMen'sLLT
BorderBearsBaranduda Recreation Reserve, WodongaYesYes
Charles Sturt UniversityMud DogsSarvaas Park, North AlburyNoYes
CorowaCougarsAirport Oval, CorowaYesYes
SheppartonEaglesPee Wee Oval, MooroopnaYesYes
TumbarumbaGreensTumbarumba ShowgroundYesYes
WangarattaKnightsGlenrowan Recreation ReserveYesYes
WodongaWombatsBaranduda Recreation Reserve, WodongaYesYes

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. 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

ColoursClubMonikerYears participatedLocationGround
AraratKings, CowboysArarat
BallaratDragons2005-2012BallaratDoug Dean Reserve, Delacombe
BendigoTigersBendigo
StawellDevilsStawell
WendoureeRaidersWendoureeDoug Dean Reserve, Delacombe

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.

Clubs

The Sunraysia-Riverlands Rugby League is a rugby league competition held in North-Western Victoria.
ColoursClubTownGround
Mildura TigersMilduraNichols Point Reserve, Nichols Point
Mildura WarriorsMilduraNichols Point Reserve, Nichols Point
Robinvale StormsRobinvaleRobinvale Sports Ground, Robinvale

Victoria Rugby League Notable Juniors

Altona Roosters
Casey Warriors
North West Wolves
Northern Thunder
South Eastern Titans
Waverley Oakleigh Panthers
Sunbury Tigers
Casey Warriors

Representative Team

The Victoria team play in the Affiliated States Championship along with the other three affiliated states plus the Australian Police and Australian Defence Force. In 2007 Victoria came fourth in the ARL Affiliated States Championships in Perth.
They won their first championship in 2009