Mackay a slim chance to host NRL games as league moves to Queensland

With the NRL’s decision to hub the league in Queensland for the next month, Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson said he would welcome clubs to play games in the Sugar City.

Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson said he would welcome the opportunity to host NRL games in Mackay “with open arms”. Picture: Heidi Petith

It might be a slim chance but the groundswell of support from Mackay’s corridors of power would welcome an NRL match in the city.

The NRL has moved the competition into bio-secure bubbles in Queensland in an effort to continue games through the latter half of the season.

Hotels in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast will house players and their families from around Australia for at least one month, as the Covid outbreak worsens in Sydney.

The move to Queensland brings a raft of changes to fixtures, with eight games a week to be played in the southeast corner.

But with a recent push for the top league to traverse into the regions, the new Queensland-based competition provides the perfect opportunity for NRL games to be played in Mackay.

Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson said it was unlikely to happen, but he would love the opportunity to host games in the region.

“If the opportunity presented itself, I would welcome teams with open arms,” Cr Williamson said.

“The government knows from past experiences that we can host and we do a bloody good job of it, but I’m not too hopeful they’ll move out of the southeast Queensland hub.”

North Queensland Cowboys player Matthew Scott enters the playing field at BB Print Stadium in 2019.

Mackay has played host to NRL pre-season matches in the past, with North Queensland Cowboys hosting Melbourne Storm at BB Print Stadium in 2019.

Cr Williamson said the financial side of hosting games made it difficult to expect teams to travel north.

“It’s not cheap, there is a requirement for public investment to bring a team here,” Cr Williamson said.

“We do work very closely with the NRL and the Queensland government to make sure they’re always aware that we’re up for hosting.

“We always have our hand up for league teams to play here for either lead-up games or hopefully one day we get a match played in Mackay.”