Merrylands Rams JRLFC

Merrylands Rugby League Club was formed in 1922 when it became a part of the Western Districts Rugby League Competition. The Clubs colours as they are today were red and green, the Clubs jersey was green with a red “V”. In those early days the town of Merrylands and its surrounds was predominately a rural community with orchards, market gardens, poultry farms and dairies being commonplace. The area became a settlement and home to British and European migrants with Maltese and Italian races being the dominant nationalities.

The early days saw the Merrylands teams travel to towns as far a drift as Riverstone and Windsor and to the south Liverpool and Busby. During these initial years Rugby League only catered for adults and teenage teams and because of the expanse of the competition area, teams were forced to travel, which in those days was an extensive distance.

Due to the expansion of the game, in 1946 the Parramatta District Junior Rugby League District was formed and the Merrylands Club became an integral part of this competition. Rugby League had become the “working man’s game”.

In the early 1950s the Club adopted the same playing strip as South Sydney and a few years later Merrylands introduced the ‘rabbit’ as their emblem.

The Club became a recognised force in “A” Grade Rugby League through the 1960s, and they were revered in rugby league circles.

Unfortunately during the 1970s the Club placed emphasis on their senior grades and as such the Clubs junior ranks dwindled in numbers. However the Club remained competitive and prosperous.

The year of 1981 saw the most significant transformation within the Merrylands Junior Rugby League Club when the “RAM” was introduced as the Clubs new logo. The “Ram” was to become integrated with rugby league within the Parramatta District and the New South Wales Rugby League fraternity, whereby Merrylands Rugby League Club was widely recognised as the RAMS. During the 80s decade the Rams senior teams were dominant and aloft their respective competitions. In 1985 the Club was leadings in both “A” & “A” Reserve Grade Competitions.

In 1990 the Rams experienced a major revamp of their charters which lead to a huge increase in their junior team ranks. The Club won several 1stDivision Competitions and a number of Rams players gained selection in local and outside representative teams. In 1995 the Merrylands Under 12 team won the highly prestigious NSW wide Coca Cola Cup, the team was regarded as the best in the State. This victory gained the Merrylands Rams Club a mass of recognition.

In the mid 90s the Club embarked on a massive fund-raising campaign with the endeavour of constructing a Clubhouse facility at the Rams Home ground at Merrylands Park.

The year 2003 saw the Rams dream reach fruition, with the opening of a Clubroom and new dressing room facility at Merrylands Oval. The Merrylands Junior Rugby League Club donated $150,000 towards the $650,000 cost of the venture. This generous donation by a non for profit sporting club is unprecedented within Holroyd City Council.

Premiership wise, the Rams have remained ‘amongst the medals’ winning the “A” Grade 1st Division competition in 2010 and several junior topships since the beginning of the current millennium.