Trugo

Trugo is Melbourne’s own working-class sport. 

The game was invented around 100 years ago in the railyards of Melbourne’s western suburbs .

Today, trugo involves hitting a rubber ring between your legs and down a grassy pitch. Players score points by guiding the ring through goals that are five feet and nine inches wide—the same width as the local rail gauge.  

The length of the pitch also likely relates to standard track lengths and the mallets used by players resemble those used by railway workers in the early 20th century.

There are roughly 100 trugo players spread across nine clubs today. Attracting enough new players remains an existential threat to what must be one of the world’s smallest sporting codes.

Despite the challenges, the sport’s continued existence is a beautiful piece of living cultural heritage. Trugo stands as a tribute to Melbourne’s working-class history.