Central Highlands Rugby League
Encyclopedia
The Central Highlands Rugby League (CHRL) is a Rugby League
competition District in the Australian state of Victoria
. It covers the area of Victoria centered around Ballarat and Ararat
, as far north as Creswick, Warrnambool in the south west, Bacchus Marsh in the east, and Horsham
in the west.
and VRL in 2005 by founder Ken James (previously Club Manager of MRL team 'Ballarat Highlanders Rugby League Club') after a necessity arose to start a competition in the western region of Victoria separate from the Melbourne Rugby League (MRL) District.
The CHRL competition started with two junior age levels but in 2008 due to the 11 year drought finally taking it's 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 2 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.
The Ararat Kings, Stawell Devils, and Ballarat Dragons are possibilities of having senior grade teams with others showing interest in setting up teams in Warrnambool, Mortlake
and possibly other towns.
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
competition District in the Australian state of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. It covers the area of Victoria centered around Ballarat and Ararat
Ararat
Ararat may refer to:*Ararat , a common first name for Armenian males *Ararat / Araratian, a common family name for Armenians -Armenian Highland:*Mount Ararat, a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey...
, as far north as Creswick, Warrnambool in the south west, Bacchus Marsh in the east, and Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
in the west.
History
The CHRL District was established and registered with the ARLARL
ARL may refer to:*Admiralty Research Laboratory, a UK military research laboratory.*Aero Research Limited, a UK company involved in the development of aircraft adhesives....
and VRL in 2005 by founder Ken James (previously Club Manager of MRL team 'Ballarat Highlanders Rugby League Club') after a necessity arose to start a competition in the western region of Victoria separate from the Melbourne Rugby League (MRL) District.
The CHRL competition started with two junior age levels but in 2008 due to the 11 year drought finally taking it's 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 2 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.
Past Clubs in CHRL
| Club | Suburb | Ground |
|---|---|---|
| Ararat Cowboys | Ararat | |
| Ballarat Dragons | Ballarat | Doug Dean Reserve |
| Wendouree Raiders | Wendouree | Doug Dean Reserve |
Extended competition
The CHRL also hosted matches in Ballarat between combined CHRL teams made up of players from both Balarat Dragons and Ararat Cowboys against Altona Roosters and Sunbury Cougars, both from the MRL District, which expanded the experience of players at district representative level.Current
Now that the Victorian drought is officially over, the CHRL is getting ready to resume competition and establishing a senior level competition to start in the 2013 or 2014 season.The Ararat Kings, Stawell Devils, and Ballarat Dragons are possibilities of having senior grade teams with others showing interest in setting up teams in Warrnambool, Mortlake
Mortlake
Mortlake is a district of London, England and part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes with East Sheen inland to the south. Mortlake was part of Surrey until 1965.-History:...
and possibly other towns.