As rugby league continues to grow in Victoria, the NRL will launch a new Schoolboys Cup qualifier, the Melbourne Storm Cup, providing up-and-coming Victorian rugby league stars more opportunities to participate in the much-loved sport.
Kicking off this week, the inaugural NRL Schoolboys Victoria Qualifiers will see three Victorian schools, Mount Ridley, Hallam College and The Grange College, battle it out for a place in the top-tier NRL Schoolboys competition. NewsCorp will look to showcase the next generation of Victorian talent, exclusively livestreaming the competition.
NRL School Participation and Projects Coordinator Jonathon Dallas said he hopes the new competition will “increase rugby league participation and offer new opportunities for kids in all the different schools in Victoria.”
“This pathway basically gives every school in Victorian an opportunity to strive for Schoolboy Cup. Where in the past that wasn’t an option,” Dallas said.
“The work that the NRL does in schools throughout the whole country sometimes can be lost, but something like this highlights how far Victoria as a state has come in school rugby league and the improvements in the level of footy they are playing.”
The three schools will compete for the top two qualifying spots, with the top spots going on to play in the NRL Schoolboys Cup. The third qualifier will go on to compete in the second-tier NRL Schoolboy Trophy competition.
Dallas is hopeful that the competition will not only provide opportunities for students to represent their school in rugby league, but to encourage and motivate schoolboys during their final years of school.
“An official rule of the schoolboy Cup and Schoolboy Trophy is students can’t play unless they’ve got 90 per cent attendance at school,” Dallas said.
“So the whole theory behind the competition is not just about developing kids, not just being a superstar footballer, but making sure they are ticking off the boxes in their schooling and education as well.
“We’re trying to help develop students’ not just footballers.”
The Grange P-12 College’s Head Coach Shannon Love expresses the need for more rugby league opportunities in Victoria, with the competition heading in the right direction for kids striving for a spot in the elite sport.
“I do think there’s a huge opportunity here, a lot of people look at Victoria as being an AFL state which they’re not wrong, but the talent out here in the west is up to standard,” Love said.
“There is a very multicultural society here with lots of Pacific Islanders and New Zealanders and that just bleed rugby which is really exciting, and I think the talent pool here does go quite deep.”
“I think the NRL is going in the right direction in developing raw talent in Victoria and this Melbourne Storm Cup is just the start, I think there’s going to be a lot of success from here,” he said.
“Melbourne Storm lack that Victorian blood, so I would love to see more development and pathways in Victoria, but we just need to keep giving the boys an opportunity to get picked up.”
The Grange will meet with Hallam College on Friday in the second round of the competition and Mr Love believes his school have the ability to give the top-tier competition “a run for their money” if they qualify.
“The boys have been in The Schoolboy Trophy last year but now we’re up against the best schools in the state which is really exciting,” he said.
“I’ve been involved in Schoolboys in NSW and I think our boys would definitely give them a good run for their money.”
In a match that will be exclusively livestreamed by NewsCorp on Friday May 6, Mount Ridley will clash with Hallam College, kicking off at 2.30pm.
Melbourne Storm Cup Live Stream
| Date & Time | Teams |
|---|---|
| Friday, May 6 1.45pm | Mount Ridley v Hallam College |
| Friday, May 13 2.30pm | Hallam College v The Grange |
| Friday, May 20 2.30pm | The Grange v Mount Ridley |
