NRL missing golden opportunity with decision to keep grand final in Sydney

What a joke. The NRL’s decision to hold two grand finals at the Sydney Cricket Ground is a slap in the face for rugby league fans, a nightmare for broadcasters and a genuine chance of growth let by, writes BRENT READ.

Boyd Cordner after the Roosters’ SCG win over the Storm. Photo: AAP Image/Craig Golding

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The NRL has missed an opportunity. A golden one at that. They have lined their pockets but the fans will be made to pay.

Two grand finals at the SCG. Surely you jest. What a disaster. The SCG is built for cricket, not rugby league. It has been plagued by issues with the surface, the latest when Cricket NSW was forced to move a Sheffield Shield game only this week.

Yet the game’s greatest showpiece will be played at the venue in 2020 and 2021. The optics make it a nightmare for broadcasters.

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Boyd Cordner after the Roosters’ SCG win over the Storm. Photo: AAP Image/Craig Golding

The Nine Network will no doubt be seething. It is bad enough that the Sydney Roosters have moved there on a temporary basis and one of the preliminary finals was played at the ground this year.

But the grand final? It doesn’t bear thought. The NRL has been well paid and while many of their clubs continue to tread water, the governing body is swimming in rivers of gold.

Only a fortnight ago, chief executive Todd Greenberg hailed the game cruising past the $500 million mark.

Now they have another $15 million or so to factor into the equation. They are fiscally flying but will be drowning in vitriol from this side of the Tweed.

The Queensland government would have paid them millions for the right to have just one grand final.

What thought for Queensland fans in this decision? Photo: Matt King/Getty Images

The NRL could have taken the show on the road for one night only, but their loyalty to the NSW government for their $2 billion investment in the city’s stadiums — and the immediate injection of another $15 million — held sway over the best interests of the fans, broadcasters and, many would argue, the game itself.

The process has been a slow burn and Queensland will no doubt argue they have been left singed. They had their hopes raised as the NSW government bumbled their way through the saga, seemingly from the outset.

The NRL and their clubs wanted most of the $2 billion thrown at ANZ Stadium. Instead, Allianz Stadium will be rebuilt and the Olympic venue will undergo a refurbishment, albeit of the $800 million variety.

The government then breached the terms of the memorandum of understanding following delays in the development of Allianz and ANZ Stadiums. They then vacillated over compensation for said delays.

The deadline was originally the end of September but the NRL gave the government an extension when sports minister John Sidoti decided to step down, leaving Geoff Lee to pick up the slack.

Pick it up he has, working in concert with other figures in the government to fend off interest from not only Queensland, but also Victoria, Western Australia and New Zealand.

The traditionalists will no doubt be happy. The grand final will stay where they and many others believe it belongs. But the game will ultimately suffer as spectators and broadcasters are forced to endure two nauseating deciders at the SCG.

The decision to keep the 2020 and 2021 grand finals in Sydney means Queensland will have to wait nearly 30 years to have another shot at stealing the biggest game of the season, given the agreement between the NRL and NSW government commits to playing 25 successive grand finals in Sydney once Allianz Stadium and ANZ Stadium are completed.

Opportunity lost.