The club only formed in January by 5 parents of existing RL players, and a further two who sons wanted to play in Maidstone. Two age groups, of U11 and U13 were planned, but no-one could have predicted its popularity.

The U13’s saw some 36+ players try the game, only 11 of those having played rugby league before, and all but 5 of them coming from south of M20, as the Panthers looked to grow the London and the South region.

The U11’s growth was even more phenomenal, with only one recognised RL player amongst a squad of 26+ who tried the game. The U11’s managed to put out two teams in all but one festival, more than any other club at this age group.

Rob Faux, Panthers Chairman said, ‘I learnt from personal experience at my previous club that recruiting is key to building a team and a club. Whilst RL is a great sport, especially at mini and junior levels, it’s not a well-known sport, so you can’t expect players to turn up in numbers, so you need to seek them out. If you can get them to try it, most will want to come back. I have been into schools for the last four or five years promoting RL and building teams and our coaching team will be doing the same at the Panthers across all the age groups. We are already working with schools in Maidstone to help them join in the National Champion schools tournaments, as well as preparing them to play other schools in the region.’

So next season the Panthers are planning to add another team at mini’s meaning they will have an U9’s and an U11’s, and two teams in the juniors giving us an U12’s, U13’s, U14’s & U15’s. They have not ruled out an U7’s and U17’s, but that will depend on demand and coach recruitment.

The Panthers will also be launching an adults and masters team in 2015, and a facebook page has already been set up to keep everyone up to date. https://www.facebook.com/invictapanthersrl
There has also been a few enquiries about girls teams, so keep an eye out on the website for further developments.