By JARROD POTTER
ADDING to Pakenham’s burgeoning sporting community, the Pakenham Eels are ready to give rugby league a try.
Joining NRL Victoria over the off-season, the Pakenham Eels Rugby League Club is set to shine in 2016 after a large number of players pledged interest before the club even opened the doors.
While it was kept under wraps throughout the summer, as the interim committee figured out whether it would be viable in Pakenham, the official announcement came last week as the club started up its inaugural pre-season.
Pakenham Eels interim committee member Jason Buchanan was thrilled to see the club grow from fairly innocuous roots late last year as a bit of a laugh quickly turned into a flourishing organisation.
“We had some discussions with NRL Victoria last year and guys jokingly threw the idea around as there aren’t any other rugby league clubs out that way,” Buchanan said.
“They’ve been looking at that area as a big growth area for about two years but nothing had eventuated as far as a club.
“So we looked into it and gauged a bit of interest from the people we knew that lived in that area – sort of felt we could push a case and things have been moving pretty quickly this year.
“The club is registered and we should be in a position to start taking some player registrations soon.”
The team’s pre-season training is running at Don Jackson Reserve, Pakenham, but the club is set to play home matches at O’Neil Road Recreation Reserve, Beaconsfield.
The Eels hope to put senior men, senior women’s tackle or tag and Under 6 to Under 17s into NRL Victoria competitions this season, starting in April.
They won’t just be a winter-sports club either; the Eels are registered as a Touch Football Association and will keep the game going all-year round.
For more information on the club’s upcoming registration day and becoming an Eel, contact the Pakenham RLC at info@pakenhamrlc.com or its Facebook page www.facebook.com/pakenhamrlc.
