21 reasons why the 2021 NRL Grand Final should come to Brisbane

Next week the NRL and NSW government will sit down to thrash out whether the 2021 grand final should be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground or put out to tender. To help them make up their minds, here are 21 reasons the game should come to Brisbane.

Next week the NRL and NSW government will sit down to thrash out whether the 2021 grand final should be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground or put out to tender.

NSW league fans – including sports minister Geoff Lee - believe the game should stay in Sydney despite the redevelopment of ANZ Stadium falling way behind schedule. The NRL, facing a major financial shortfall, are undecided.

To help them make up their minds, here are 21 reasons the game should come to Brisbane in ‘21:

Suncorp Stadium has a lot to offer.

1. Suncorp Stadium is the best rugby league ground in the world – but don’t take our word for it. Gus Gould said it, so it must be true.

2. Even as a cricket ground the SCG sucks. In 2017 a survey of State captains and match referees voted it the worst first-class venue in Australia.

3. Of the 22 grand finals since the formation of the NRL (including Sunday) only five have been played between two Sydney teams.

4. Queenslanders provided the ARL with the biggest cash cow in the game’s history by getting behind State of Origin in 1980 – a concept that NSW league legend Bob Fulton predicted would be “the biggest non-event of all time.”

5. Queenslanders are the most committed rugby league supporters in the country. Since the day the Broncos came into the competition in 1988 the club has attracted by far the largest crowds to their home games. A Sydney club doesn’t even come second, that distinction going to the Newcastle Knights.

Brisbane fans are known for their passionate support and turnout at games.

6. The average total attendances of the three Queensland clubs in 2019 was 219,042, beating the average of the nine Sydney clubs by 44,795.

7. Suncorp Stadium would provide the NRL with a much greater financial return because unlike at the SCG, members pay for tickets to major events and income from corporate boxes goes to the hirer.

8. The NRL would not have to give away “freebies” to fill the ground as they do in Sydney. Queenslanders actually pay for tickets to watch rugby league.

9. One of the major catalysts for Super League was the ARL refusing the Broncos’ request to hold the 1993 grand final in Brisbane. (That’s not a threat by the way, just a historical fact).

10. How can the NRL boast of being “inclusive” if they exclude everyone else from holding a grand final?

11. In return for NSW taxpayers stumping up $2 billion to upgrade Sydney’s antiquated rugby league stadiums the NRL has promised 25 grand finals. Queensland taxpayers have contributed $800 million to providing three outstanding venues. Surely one grand final isn’t too much to ask.

Gus Gould.

12. Suncorp Stadium has Caxton Street pubs, bars and restaurants within walking distance of the ground. Enough said.

13. Suncorp Stadium offers something that no other sporting venue in the world can boast: “selfie ops” with the most photographed tourist attraction in the State – King Wally’s statue.

14. Just under one third of all players who have taken part in the last five NRL grand finals were born in Queensland.

15. No other city outside Sydney and Brisbane deserves it. Perth and Adelaide have already hijacked Origin, and Melbourne shouldn’t even be considered for an NRL grand final until they agree to let the AFL grand final be played somewhere else (in other words, until hell freezes over). As for New Zealand, that’s just stupid.

16. There is a humanitarian issue to be considered. The capacity of the SCG is 46,000. The capacity of Suncorp Stadium is 52,500. That means if it was held in Brisbane 6500 more people would be spared from having to watch the game on Channel 9.

Former Queensland player Billy Moore.

17. We can throw in Billy Moore doing a “Queenslander” call prior to kick-off free of charge.

18. Since the formation of the NRL in 1998, 10 of the 21 grand final-winning teams have been captained by Queenslanders.

19. NSW gave us Sydney-born Peter Beattie. They owe us.

20. Sydney grand final entertainment has included a blacked-out Billy Idol, an indecipherable Slash, the stars of Neighbours, John Williamson singing ‘Rip, Rip, Woodchip’, and the cast of 42nd Street (who brought along the wrong backing tape). If Brisbane can’t put on a better show than that, Alfie Langer’s my aunty.

21. The NRL is supposed to stand for National Rugby League, not Never Really Listening.