Canberra’s Bruce Stadium precinct new home for local and rural rugby league talent

The NSW Rugby League has launched a new partnership with the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) and the ACT Government which will expose grassroots players to the high-performance sporting facilities around Bruce Oval that had formerly been home to the Canberra Raiders.

Commenting on how the new partnership will see the reuse of the Bruce Oval sporting precinct, ACT Minister for Sport and Recreation, Yvette Berry stated "Bruce Oval will now give local Canberra teams a home ground to play on, while also ensuring teams from regional NSW have access to a high-performance training facility.

"Canberrans have a great passion for sport - both in participation and as fans. And we're lucky to be able to be so connected with our elite teams. Particularly for Canberra's young people to see what they can be, follow their aspirations."

The partnership will see the facility used by the Belconnen Sharks senior club, Monaro representative teams, as well as the Score Raiders.

NSWRL Chief Executive David Trodden said the organisation, which is responsible for more than 100,000 registered grassroots Rugby League participants across NSW and ACT, is thrilled with the new partnership, that enables the continued use of the high performance Bruce Oval sporting precinct for local and regional sporting teams in the Canberra area.

Trodden noted “it is a great outcome for the local sporting community to be able to have access to sporting facility that was until recently the home of the successful Canberra Raiders NRL team.

"Most importantly, it ensures people in regional NSW have access to the same standard of high performance facilities that people in metropolitan Sydney have."

The Raiders, who made the NRL Grand Final in 2019 and the Preliminary Final last year, had trained at Bruce Oval since 1999 but have now shifted to a new high-performance centre in Braddon.

The Bruce Oval sporting precinct includes a cricket-sized oval, a fully equipped gym, two sets of changerooms, office space and meeting rooms.

Image (from left): Canberra Region and Community Rugby League General Manager, Mark Vergano; Canberra Junior Rugby League Chairman, Gary Green and NSWRL Zone Manager - Greater Western and Greater Southern, David Skinner at Bruce Oval.