Eastern Raptors Rugby League Club

🌟 JUNIOR AWARD NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN! 🌟

Do you know a young Raptor or junior referee who has gone above and beyond this year?

Maybe they’ve shown outstanding sportsmanship, supported their teammates, grown in confidence, stepped up as a leader, or simply made a positive difference around the club.

Now’s your chance to recognise them!

Nominations are open for the NRLVic Young Person of the Year and Young Referee of the Year awards.

Know someone who deserves a little extra recognition? Put their name forward! 🦖

Let’s celebrate the young people who make our club what it is.

🌟 The NRLVIC Junior Award Nominations are officially open!

Know an outstanding junior referee or young person making a difference in our game?

Nominate them for: 🏆 Junior Referee of the Year 🏆 Young Person of the Year

Don't miss the chance to recognise their achievements and contributions to rugby league. The future is bright!

🔗 Nominate here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/M1aL60HWgh

ANYTHING BUT TRAINING GEAR!

Our Senior Women decided that with semi-finals just around the corner, they’d have a little fun before it’s time to lock in and focus!

Tonight’s session was anything but training gear — because apparently you can prepare for finals while looking absolutely nothing like you’re preparing for finals!

A bit of fun, plenty of laughs, and then it’s back to business.

Semi-finals are calling. Time to lock it in, ladies! 🦖

🎟️ LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR TICKETS! 🦖

Our raffle is almost at the finish line! Don’t miss your chance to grab a ticket for just $10.

🎟️ Only 200 tickets available
💰 $10 per ticket
🔥 LAST CHANCE TO ENTER!

Grab yours at training Tuesday or Thursday, or send us a message to the page and we’ll get you sorted.

Once they’re gone, they’re gone! 🦖

When I look back at this Under 13s season, I honestly couldn’t be prouder of this group of boys.

Around 50% of our team had never played rugby league before. They took on a challenge that many would find difficult, stepping into a sport that demands courage, toughness, teamwork and a willingness to put yourself in uncomfortable situations. To make things even harder, we played short of players for 90% of the season. But instead of using that as an excuse, these boys built something far more important, character and resilience.

There were moments when I wondered how we would get through, but the boys continued to turn up, put their bodies on the line and fight for each other. The resilience they developed is the kind of resilience that can only be forged through adversity , almost like the character built during war. They learned that sometimes you have to dig deeper than you think you can.

What makes me most proud is seeing how far some of these kids have come. I remember boys who were scared to tackle, unsure of themselves and hesitant to put their bodies into contact. Fast forward to the end of the season, and some of those same boys were the first ones putting themselves into contact. They found courage where they didn't know they had it.

Stepping outside your comfort zone is never easy, especially at that age. But these boys kept doing it. They found the courage to make a tackle, carry the ball into contact, get back up after being knocked down and have another go. That courage is something they can carry with them far beyond rugby league.

For me personally, coaching this team has been about much more than football. Building friendships with these boys, watching them grow and helping them overcome challenges has taught me more about myself than I ever realised. They have reminded me that coaching isn't just about teaching skills, winning games or developing players. Sometimes, it's about helping young people believe in themselves when they don't yet believe in themselves.

I am incredibly proud of every single one of them. Proud of the effort. Proud of the toughness. Proud of the courage. Proud of the way they stood by each other when things were difficult.

They may not remember every game or every result years from now, but I hope they remember what this season taught them: you can step outside your comfort zone, face something difficult, find courage, and become stronger because of it.

This team started the season as a group of boys, many of whom had never played rugby league before but they finished it as a brotherhood and team that had been tested, challenged and forged together through adversity.

And I couldn't be prouder to have been their coach.

Coach Zee

The season is officially over for our U13 Boys and Senior Men, who now join the U15 Boys in celebrating the season that was. Meanwhile, our **Senior Women are heading to FINALS!** 🔥

🦖 U13 Boys

What a way to finish the season!

A fantastic final game full of great sportsmanship, teamwork, effort and determination. You should all be incredibly proud of how far you’ve come this season.

The improvement from that first game to the last has been huge, and you’ve shown what happens when you stick together and keep working hard.

Enjoy a few weeks well-earned rest, boys. We can’t wait to see you all back for preseason and ready for an even bigger and better 2027 season!

A big thank you too to Casey Warriors Rugby League Club for your support.

🦖 Senior Women

**What. A. Season.** 🔥

With a great mix of players of all skill levels, this group has absolutely killed it this season.

And now... **FINALS!** 👊

The work isn’t done yet. It’s time to show everyone exactly what our Raptor Women are made of. 🦖

Let’s get behind them and bring the Raptor support as they take on finals! 💪

🦖 A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

A massive thank you to the businesses who have supported our teams throughout the season. Your support helps make it possible for our players to get out there and do what they love. 🦖

** LaTink ** — supporting our Senior Women & U15 Boys
** Nally’s Visuals ** — supporting our Senior Women
** BackYardCourts_Melbourne ** — supporting our Senior Men

We genuinely appreciate your support of the Eastern Raptors!

UP THE RAPTORS! 🦖

🔥 SENIOR WOMEN | TEAM LIST 🔥

It’s the final game of the home & away season! 🦖

All the hard work, determination and commitment throughout the season has paid off — and now it’s time to finish the regular season strong before we head into FINALS! 🏆

One more big effort, Ladies!

Let’s get behind our Senior Women and show them plenty of support as they hit the field for the final time before finals football!

FINALS NEXT WEEK. LET’S GO LADIES! 🦖

📷

🦖🏉 COMPETITION PLAYERS OF THE DAY 🏉🦖

Another round, another group of Raptors to celebrate!

🦖 U13 Boys
A brilliant team effort from the boys — Coach simply couldn’t separate you all! 👏 Every player brought something to the game, and you should all be proud of yourselves.

A huge thank you to Hume Eagles RLC for their support as well. We really appreciate you!

🦖 Senior Women
The final game of the regular season is here! 🔥 The girls are heading into the weekend knowing every effort counts as they prepare to head into finals.

Good luck this weekend, ladies — finish the regular season strong! 🦖💪

🦖 U15 Boys
The final game of the season for our U15 boys.

What a season it has been. It’s been a tough one, but this group has continued to improve week after week, showing incredible determination, grit and commitment along the way.

We are incredibly proud of each and every one of you. 👏🦖

Enjoy the break, boys — you’ve earned it! We’ll see you at presentation night and then back at pre-season.

🦖 NON-COMPETITION PLAYER OF THE DAY! 🦖

Better late than never!

A big shoutout to our latest Players of the Day!

We’re a little behind with the post, but these Raptors absolutely deserve their moment in the spotlight! 🌟

Congratulations to all our Players of the Day — we’re so proud of the effort, enthusiasm and team spirit you bring every game day! 🦖

Keep up the awesome work, Little Raptors!

🏉 That’s a wrap on 2026 for our Senior Men. 🦖

Unfortunately, our Senior Men have had to forfeit their final game of the season.

While it’s not the way we wanted to finish the season, we’d like to say thank you to everyone who has supported our Senior Men in 2026, especially our team sponsor BackYardCourts_Melbourne

Now it’s time to recharge, reset and look forward to Season 2027! 🦖