It’s Smith v Cronk as Storm-Roosters grand final rematch headlines NRL 2019 Easter weekend draw
HOW can you make Good Friday even better? By scheduling a grand final rematch that pits two feuding superstars together again, as Storm host the Roosters to headline the NRL 2019 Easter weekend draw.
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COOPER Cronk will make an emotional return to AAMI Park for the first time since walking out on the Melbourne Storm as part of a blockbuster Easter weekend of rugby league in 2019.
The NRL has scheduled its Roosters v Storm grand final rematch for Good Friday, April 19, on a day that will also feature traditional Easter rivals South Sydney and Canterbury at ANZ Stadium.
The spectacular holiday weekend of football will also include the very first rugby league game at the new Western Sydney Stadium on the Monday afternoon between the Parramatta Eels and the Wests Tigers that is expected to sell out within days of tickets going on sale.
The 2019 NRL draw will to be released at 11am Thursday.
Cronk’s departure from Storm to the Roosters, that caused the bitter falling out with his former Storm, Maroons and Kangaroos skipper Cameron Smith, will no doubt fill AAMI Park.
The grand final replay will follow the Rabbitohs v Bulldogs game as part of a blockbuster Fox Sports TV double-header.
“That’s an awesome result for our club,” said Storm CEO Dave Donaghy when The Daily Telegraph informed him of the Good Friday schedule.
“I’m sure they’ll rock up in good numbers to see Coops again. The good guys normally get a good reception when they return home but this might be a bit different after the grand final.”
Cronk has surgery last week on his broken shoulder blade that he took into the grand final.
Surgeons inserted a 12cm plate.
He will undergo three months of physiotherapy and be ready to play in the trials or round one next season.
The NRL is unsure if Storm and the Roosters will have opposition from the AFL that night because their 2019 draw has yet to be revealed.
The Roosters, Storm game was played in Adelaide last year where Smith and Cronk barely even acknowledged each other after the match.
Their public falling out became one of the big stories of the season.
The NRL draw for Easter Monday will include a TBC for the Parramatta v Wests Tigers game because the Eels are still in negotiations with Venues NSW for the use of Western Sydney Stadium.
The disagreement over hiring costs is expected to be sorted within days.
Given fine weather, the Easter weekend schedule could challenge the all-time attendance record for one round of football, depending on whether there is a game at Suncorp Stadium.
The all-time record was in Round 1 2011 when 201,205 fans went through the turnstiles.
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Originally published as It’s Smith v Cronk as Storm-Roosters grand final rematch headlines NRL 2019 Easter weekend draw
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