Medway Dragons
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Medway Dragons are a
Rugby League Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
club based in Gillingham,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. They compete in the London & The South Competitions


History

''Medway Dragons'' were founded on the evening of Friday 30 November 2007 at a meeting of 12 men in the, now demolished, Roseneath public house in Arden Street, Gillingham. The original plan for two teams at Under 11 and Under 13 was soon surpassed with five teams in the first season. The primary objective of the club is to provide playing and volunteering opportunities for all in the community. As well as the Primary, Junior and Men's sections, the club operate Masters and Wheelchair teams. For a period of time, the club also ran Handball and Netball sections Medway Dragons launched an open-age team in 2011 and joined the London & South Division of the
Rugby League Conference The Rugby League Conference (RLC) (also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, ...
finishing sixth. In 2012, the team finished 3rd in the South East Regional League of the
Rugby League Conference The Rugby League Conference (RLC) (also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, ...
, reaching the play-offs for the first time ever. They were beaten in the semi-final play-offs by Southampton Spitfires 32-14. In 2013, Dragons finished top of the South East Regional League, before defeating
Sussex Merlins Sussex The Merlins are a rugby league team playing in the London and South division of the Rugby League Conference. They are based in Brighton, East Sussex. History Sussex Merlins were founded in May 2009 by Chairman Nick Weston with the aim of ...
88-6 in the semi-final play-offs. In the Grand Final on Saturday 17 August, Medway Dragons played United Services
Portsmouth Navy Seahawks Portsmouth Navy Seahawks were a rugby league team based in Gosport, Hampshire. They played in the South Premier Division of the Rugby League Conference. The Seahawks, as a club, is open to non-service players as well as members of the Royal Nav ...
at Medway Park and were defeated 22-27. The Dragons announced former
London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club in London, England. The club competes in the RFL Championship. It was a member of Super League from its inaugural season in 1996 until the end of the 2014 season, when they were relegat ...
head coach,
Rob Powell Robert Powell (born ) is the head coach of Kent London & South East Men's League side Medway Dragons and the Head of Youth at the London Broncos in the Super League. He is the former head coach of the London Broncos Rugby League Club and forme ...
, as head coach with a plan to become semi-professional and join the Championship One being the only Kent side to play professional rugby league since
Kent Invicta Kent Invicta is a defunct rugby league team that were based in Maidstone, Kent and later Southend in Essex. History Kent Invicta RLFC and Southend Invicta RLFC ''Kent Invicta RLFC'' was formed by a local businessman, Paul Faires, and Jim Thompso ...
. This period brought huge improvement to the playing standards of the senior teams in the club and Medway Dragons with the First Grade (under Rob Powell) and Under 17 (under Martin Coyd) winning Premierships in 2014 and 2016 respectively. The First Grade went on to beat
Cornish Rebels Cornish Rebels are an amateur rugby league team based in Redruth, Cornwall. They were founded in January 2013 by John Beach and Rob Butland. Cornish Rebels RLFC are affiliated with the Rugby Football League, rugby league's governing body in the ...
before falling at the semi Final stage to
London Chargers London Chargers R.L.F.C. are a rugby league side based in South West London who currently (2022) compete in the Southern Conference League, a tier 4 competition. They were known as the South West London Chargers up until November 2015. They ...
in the National
Harry Jepson Trophy The Harry Jepson Trophy is a rugby league competition contested by teams from successor leagues to the Rugby League Conference. It is named after Harry Jepson. History The Harry Jepson trophy was first contested in 1997 by members of the then So ...
. Medway Dragons were crowned as Champions of The London Premier League as they beat Brixton Bulls 38-18 on 18 Sep 21 to complete an outstanding season


Juniors

Medway Dragons' juniors take part in the London Junior League. {{DEFAULTSORT:Medway Dragons Rugby league teams in Kent Rugby League Conference teams Rugby clubs established in 2007 English rugby league teams 2007 establishments in England