By Ethan Benedicto
Being a sport-dominant state has seen a lot of active people in Victoria, much so for the City of Casey being the largest LGA, making it difficult not to find talent in the swathes of aspiring rugby stars.
Rugby powerhouse Melbourne Storm, after reaching an agreement with the city back in 2023, is looking to run its third leg of trial and practice matches in early 2025, clashing with the North Queensland Cowboys at Casey Fields.
Storm’s CEO, Justin Rodski said that he and the players are excited to be back in the city after their July 2024 session in Cranbourne East was cancelled due to weather conditions.
“That will be our final trail game ahead of the regular season, so we’ll have a full-strength team and honestly, we’re looking forward to the team playing in the suburbs of Melbourne,” he said.
“The southeast is a really important corridor for us when it comes to our fans, our members, and we’ve established one of our pathways through here, through Casey, we know that we’ve got a lot of support throughout the region.”
Set to be held on Sunday 23 February at 4pm, the day will also feature a Festival of Rugby League, where before the kick-off, three curtain raisers of Storm’s under 17s, under 19s, and the Storm Female Development Squad get the chance to get their boots dirty and showcase their talent.
Casey Warriors Rugby League Club vice president, Arana Taepa, said that these initiatives and events are “great for grassroots football”.
“It’s massive for our community because the majority of the time, the only chance people get to see them is either at AAMI Park or on the TV.
“So to be able to walk out to their own doorstep and to be able to mingle with these top-line athletes, it’s amazing for the community as a whole,” he said.
Back in February 2023, Casey’s CEO Glenn Patterson and Rodski both announced the partnership at AAMI Park, with the partnership set to be in place until October 2027.
Rodski said the same back then, and at that stage, two juniors from the Casey Warriors Club, Sheldon Diaz and Jared Nauma, remain examples of the reach and growth of the sport.
The said growth has been everything exciting and in between, with the potential for expansion in a predominantly AFL-centred state becoming more evident.
“We’re proud of the number of Victorians that are now playing the sport and participation’s growing every year, so there’s the potential of expansion and it’s important for us to develop our talent here in our own backyard,” Rodski said.
“There are a lot of young kids out there playing rugby and are in the league, so we want to be able to give them an opportunity and the pathway through to the elite.
“It’s on days like these, like the Festival of Rugby League at Casey Fields, that enables us to showcase that to the community and for the people in their region to come and watch, it brings people together and for us, that’s really exciting.”
Taepa said that the excitement continues to grow, not just for the club’s players who are part of the developmental team at Storm, but also for the local community to experience elite performance just a stone’s throw away.
“It’s Melbourne Storm given back to the rugby league community, taking their training and their games out to local places,” Taepa said.
“It’s massive, massive for Casey, massive for Casey Warriors and massive for the community as a whole.”
This event will be the final practice match before Round 1 of the NRL season, and will also be the only pre-season match in Victoria.
For tickets and more information on the event, visit www.ticketmaster.com.au/artist/1157378
