One of Rotorua's oldest rugby league clubs is about to undergo a much needed makeover thanks to the ‘Woodstock League Club Fix Up' competition.

Central Rugby League Club was this week announced as one of two winners, alongside Te Aroha Rugby Club in Hutt Valley Wellington, and will receive a $10,000 upgrade in the coming months.

The clubroom has been victim to numerous burglaries, vandalism and tagging during the past few years, leaving the clubrooms ready for a facelift.

Central Rugby League Club secretary Kerry Mason entered the ‘Woodstock League Club Upgrade' competition after seeing it advertised on the Woodstock Bourbon and Cola Facebook page.

'Our clubrooms have receive substantial damage as a result of burglaries and vandalism over the past few years. We have had walls kicked in, holes put in our roof and tagging.

'We're a small club with limited financial resources and while we've always known undertaking repairs to the clubrooms was necessary, we always wondered if the money could be put to better use. As a result of winning this prize, we can now use the allocated money on other things, such as buying more gear and uniforms for our younger players.”

As winners on the ‘Woodstock League Club Fix Up' competition, Central will receive $10,000 worth of time from two local tradesmen, as arranged by Woodstock Bourbon and Cola.

The competition ran throughout August with more than 200 entries from clubs around New Zealand, including the far north and as far south as Invercargill.

Rugby League has a long history in New Zealand and Woodstock Bourbon and Cola is proud to support the code, says Woodstock Bourbon and Cola category manager Laura Youngman.

'We are really proud to sponsor all levels of league in New Zealand. While we have high profile sponsorships with the likes of the Vodafone NZ Warriors and the NRL Auckland Nines. We realise that if we want to continue producing great players like Shaun Johnson and Manu Vatuvei, then rugby league needs to be supported at the grassroots level as well.

'As part of our commitment to the rugby league community in New Zealand we have undertaken several projects to support the development of the sport, including the ‘Woodstock League Club Upgrade' competition and standing shoulder to shoulder with the Vodafone NZ Warriors as official sponsors.”

Central's clubrooms have been located in Linton Park Reserve on Edmund Road since 2007, after they moved from their previous site on Tallyho Street. The club, which currently has more than 200 players, will celebrate its 70^th anniversary in 2019.

During the past few years, club numbers have declined dramatically, but the board of trustees has been working hard to return the club to its former glory in time for the anniversary celebrations.

'We believe the club and the clubrooms need to be here and have a vital role to play in the Rotorua community. Players come and players go, but the clubrooms are a permanent fixture. Being able to give the clubrooms a makeover will help enormously to restore our pride in the clubrooms,” Kerry says.

With funds that were earmarked for the repair of the clubrooms now available, Kerry says the club would be able to use the freed money to further support the community.

'Our club is located in an area with many low income families. For the kids of these families, rugby league can give them a future and drive them away from the gang culture that is so dominant in our area and Rotorua.

'We are so grateful to Woodstock for the prize and their support of rugby league. Thanks to this competition we will be able to continue to keep our annual fees low and encourage more and more children to join the club without burdening the parents with a massive joining fee.”