Liam McNally
The oldest Rugby Union club in Melbourne’s west has been offered a home after four years, and is calling on Melton council to provide upgraded facilities.
The Melton Warriors Rugby Union Club has been competing for almost 50 years, and has almost 300 members, with about 20 players playing at a state level.
However, the club has never had its own specific rectangle pitch, and has been without a permanent home-ground since upgrades to MacPherson Park began in 2019.
Club treasurer Sefo Finau said the club has been “moved around a lot”, first to Frontier Reserve in Aintree, and then this year to Blackwood Reserve.
“We tend to lose members [when we move] because when people come back between seasons they don’t know where the club is, which is not good,” he said.
“For a club that has been involved for almost 50 years without a permanent ground, I feel for the kids whose number one sport is rugby.”
Mr Finau said the club has been granted a home at Blackwood Drive Recreation Reserve and is calling on council to upgrade the reserve’s facilities to make them fit for purpose.
“We are currently working on it at the moment with the council… We quite like [Blackwood Drive Reserve], it’s central, easy access for other clubs on competition day, it’s a big area with potential for expansion,” he said.
“With the current facility there’s not much storage, the club room is too small, the kitchen needs to be commercialised… If they do up the ground we will have the potential to host finals.
“It would help everyone feel like they belong to the club in a permanent place…and It would benefit the local kids in Melton, take them off the street, and keep them engaged.”
Melton MP Steve McGhie, who visited the club on May 11 with Community Sport Minister Ros Spence, committed to advocating for upgrades including a new pitch and club rooms.
Melton mayor Lara Carli said council has a plan to “help us accommodate all rugby codes in our city“.
“We adopted the Rugby Strategy in November last year to help plan for our city’s future needs and to better work with rugby clubs to make sure there’s always a home for them in Melton,” she said.
