Rugby league in Victoria

Rugby league in Victoria
Melbourne tram in 2009 featuring Melbourne Storm advertising livery
Governing body	NRL Victoria
Representative team	Victoria
First played	1914, Melbourne
Registered players	10,471 (2023)[1] 16,000+ (including variants)[2]
Clubs	25[3]
Club competitions
Victorian Rugby League (Melbourne Rugby League) Limestone Coast Rugby League Murray Cup Sunraysia-Riverlands Rugby League
Audience records
Single match	91,513 (2015). State of Origin – Queensland v New South Wales (MCG, Melbourne)

Rugby league football has been played and watched by people in the Australian state of Victoria since the early 20th century. While for most of its history there the game's popularity has been marginal due to the dominance of Australian rules football in Victoria, rugby league's popularity has rapidly increased in recent years in the state's capital of Melbourne,^[4] due mainly to the introduction of a professional Melbourne-based team in the national competition.^[5] The governing body is NRL Victoria.

In 1998 the first professional club, the Melbourne Storm, was established as an expansion club to join the National Rugby League premiership,^[6] the only professional rugby league club located across the Barassi Line.

The Australian Rugby League reports that over $23 million has been invested by the Melbourne Storm and its partners in promoting and developing rugby league in Victoria since 2005 and the club has visited more than 550 schools across the state. Participation has grown significantly since 2006, with more than 10,000 players across at least 25 clubs in 2024.