Promoting their club as fun and inclusive for all, the Western Vikings have nearly doubled their list of teams after only 12 months.
The local junior rugby league club, which plays out of Whalan Reserve near North St Marys, joined the Penrith District in 2021 with just 10 teams to their name.
This year 17 teams will represent the mighty Vikings when the new Penrith Juniors season kicks off this April.
The man behind the burgeoning franchise, Vikings President Moses Finau, said his ‘little club that could’ continues to go from strength to strength.
“In terms of registrations, we’re breaking records here… it’s looking really good for the 2022 season,” he told the Weekender.
“We had 10 teams last year – nine junior sides and an A-Grade team. Now we have 16 junior sides and an A-Grade team, so that’s 17 teams in total for the ’22 season.
“We’re still getting lots of enquiries coming through, but I don’t want to expand too fast just yet, so we’re just taking it as it comes.”
The Vikings field male, female and mixed teams from the U5 division right through to U14s. They also run out an A-Grade team. Finau believes his club are retaining as well as recruiting new players because of the fun atmosphere the club promotes.
“I said to the staff, that as long as the coaches are providing that fun experience for the kids and the kids were coming back, that means everyone was doing their jobs correctly,” Finau said.
“Once a month we hold a Viking Night at the ground where there’s no training at all and everyone registered with us receives a free feed and can win cool prizes.
“We just want everyone to have fun… nothing too serious, and we hope the kids want to continue playing with us.”
While the club is kicking huge goals in the recruitment and ‘fun’ stakes, they are also nailing it in the sponsorship department too, with several businesses partnering with the Vikings for season 2022.
The club is also getting behind a number of charities and mental health initiatives, like the NRL’s State of Mind program. Plus this season the Vikings will also unveil their very first Indigenous jersey, which will be available to purchase in the coming months.
“Our club will be hosting Indigenous Round this year and we will be selling our Indigenous jersey online to celebrate,” Finau said.
“My partner, club secretary Kaila Crowley, designed the jerseys. She’s a proud Wiradjuri woman, so look out for those.”
For more information, visit the club’s Facebook page for ways to get involved.
Nathan Taylor
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.