Sport Confidential: Brisbane Broncos fans set to offload grand final tickets
Brisbane Broncos fans are holding over 10% of tickets for the 2024 NRL grand final but with their team next to no chance of appearing in the decider will they start selling? See which fans have gotten in early
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There could be a fire sale of NRL grand final tickets in Queensland after hopeful Brisbane fans were among the fans who snapped up tickets for the premiership decider when they went on sale.
Canterbury fans too are showing great optimism with the rejuvenated Bulldogs among those who have already purchased grand final tickets.
There is little surprise to see Penrith and Melbourne sit at the top when it comes to fans who have bought tickets.
Surprisingly though Canterbury and Brisbane are next on the list.
The Roosters, Canberra, Warriors, Sharks and Dragons fans round out the top nine in terms of purchased tickets.
Grand final tickets went on sale on July 31 so despite the Broncos dramatic slide down the ladder their fans still had some hope off the back of going so close to winning a title last year.
SAILOR NOT WALKING THE PLANK
Broncos utility Tristan Sailor insists he isn’t abandoning a sinking ship after deciding to leave Brisbane.
Sailor has been released from the final season of his Broncos contract to take up a two-year deal with Super League powerhouse St Helens.
Sailor will finish the 2024 NRL season with the Broncos before embarking on a move to England.
The son of Broncos legend Wendell Sailor, Tristan has been stuck behind Maroons star Reece Walsh.
He has mostly performed admirably when given an opportunity in the NRL, but isn’t content to play second-fiddle anymore and wanted a regular starting position.
Sailor said his move to England was about more opportunities, instead of fleeing a Broncos club on the slide.
“We spoke about it during the year that I really wanted to take those opportunities,” he said.
“I have a few good mates over there living in Manchester. Adam Clune who is playing for Huddersfield has told me what the lifestyle is like.
“To be able to play in an elite competition at a good team, St Helens are a really historic club, and see that part of the world is something I wanted to look into.
“I am grateful for the Broncos giving me that opportunity and releasing me with a year left on my contract.”
Sailor has been recalled to the bench for Saturday’s clash with the Cowboys in Townsville and may get to finish the season in the NRL.
But he wants to forge his own path in an elite competition instead of spending most weeks in reserve grade and has no plans to return to the NRL.
“It is a tough one. If I go over there and enjoy it I might want to stay,” he said.
“I have signed for two years at Saints and can really improve my game and be consistent in a high level comp. After that it will be how I feel.
“I want to learn as much as I can and play top flight footy because it takes a toll on your body.”
DOLPHINS CLAIM SOME HOLLYWOOD A-LIST SUPPORT
The Dolphins have offered Hollywood superstar Drew Barrymore a life membership after she was spotted wearing club paraphernalia.
Barrymore was photographed departing Brisbane Airport on Sunday following a whirlwind Australian holiday.
In an apparent attempt to go incognito, The Wedding Singer star donned sunglasses and a baseball cap as she was whisked through the airport.
But the hat happened to be a Dolphins cap, which is exclusively provided to members and cannot be purchased.
The Dolphins were stunned when photos of Barrymore in the hat started circling and CEO Terry Reader said she was welcome at Redcliffe next time she visits Australia.
“The funny thing is we couldn’t work out how Drew got the cap when we saw the photo,” he said.
“It is a members’ only item that you can’t buy in a store, so we love that a member gave it to her and Drew liked it enough to wear it.
“We are happy to offer Drew a lifetime membership of the Dolphins if she wears our cap every time she goes through an airport.”
STORM LAUNCH PAPS MISSION
The Storm have ramped up contract extension talks with star fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen amid speculation linking him with a move to Parramatta.
Papenhuyzen is off-contract at the end of 2025 and facing pressure from rising star Sua Fa’alogo for Melbourne’s No. 1 jersey.
However Storm chairman Matt Tripp has no intentions of showing Papenhuyzen the door and is in deep discussions with his management about a potential new deal.
Papenhuyzen is a free agent from November 1 this year and it remains to be seen if he makes a decision on his future before then.
HAYNE’S TITANIC POST
Controversial former NRL superstar Jarryd Hayne has posted a cryptic message about the Gold Coast Titans.
Hayne has slowly been becoming more visible publicly since being released from prison in June after having sexual assault convictions quashed on appeal.
After laying low for some time, Hayne has been spotted training with sprint coach Roger Fabri.
And he has taken to social media to post about one of his old NRL clubs after the Titans flogged the Broncos 46-18 last weekend.
On his verified Facebook page, which has 426,000 followers, Hayne simply posted “Titans” with an eyes looking emoji.
While there was little context with Hayne’s post, we can only imagine he was impressed by what he saw from Des Hasler’s improving team.
After quitting the Eels to have a crack at the NFL in 2015, Hayne infamously played 23 games for the Titans in his return to the NRL during a doomed one-year cameo across the 2016-17 seasons.
He returned to Parramatta for one last season in 2018 before his career fell apart following the off-field scandal.
SUNCORP EYES WRESTLING JUGGERNAUT
One of the world’s biggest wrestling events could be headed to Queensland.
All Elite Wrestling (AEW), fast growing rival to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), is scoping out venues in Australia ahead of a massive stadium tour next year.
The AEW attracted a record crowd of more than 80,000 at the famous Wembley in England last year and CEO Kosha Irby was recently spotted in Australia looking at potential venues.
The 52,000-seat Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane is one of the contenders to host an AEW event, which is being supported by entertainment giant TEG.
The likes of Allianz Stadium in Sydney and Marvel Stadium in Melbourne are also potential hosts for the tour.
Wrestling attracts huge crowds, with more than 52,000 turning out for a WWE event in Perth earlier this year while the MCG attracted 70,000 in 2018.
An event with this sort of pulling power would be a major coup for Queensland and Suncorp Stadium, which is quickly developing a reputation for being a premier major event venue.
SPOTTED
They may be fierce competitors in the battle to be kings of Queensland but the leaders of the four Sunshine State clubs came together for this week’s NRL CEO’s conference.
Broncos boss Dave Donaghy invited counterparts Terry Reader (Dolphins), Jeff Reibel (Cowboys) and Steve Mitchell (Titans) to Red Hill on Wednesday to dial in for the meeting.
Reibel’s Cowboys are currently the only Queensland club in the top eight and on track to take bragging rights this season.
STORM TARGET SEVENS STAR
The Storm are trying to land their next Will Warbrick with Melbourne closing in on a Kiwi Olympic sevens star.
It is understood that Melbourne officials met with Moses Leo, 26, in New Zealand prior to the Olympics to discuss the prospect of a code-switch.
Those talks are now expected to heat up with Leo’s Olympic commitments over. Leo spent a large chunk of the early part of his career on the sidelines but has bounced back to be a regular in New Zealand’s sevens team. He was part of their bronze medal winning team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and their silver medal team at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens.
New Zealand finished fifth at the Olympics with Leo scoring a try in New Zealand’s 17-7 win against Ireland.
The Storm don’t have to look too far to find inspiration for similar success. They plucked Warbrick from New Zealand’s sevens team in 2022. Warbrick followed a similar path to Leo having made his mark in sevens including winning a silver medal at the 2020 Olympics.
He switched codes in 2022 where he played out the year in Queensland Cup. However he has been a regular for the high flying Storm since last season with the 26-year-old going on to score 25 tries from 42 matches.
MAROON FINALS BLOW
It’s been a tough year for Queensland NRL punters.
On top of losing the State of Origin series, there’s now the possibility that all four Queensland clubs could miss the finals.
TAB has even added a speciality offer for the rare occurrence and cheekily named it the Cane Toad Implode market.
“Queensland having no representation in the finals has only happened once since the NRL was formed, back in the forgettable 2020 season, and we’ve priced the chances of another full Cane Toad Implosion at $13 for all four clubs to bomb out of contention,” said TAB’s Rohan Welsh.
“The Cowboys look the safest option to play finals especially if they beat Brisbane this weekend, but the Dolphins have had a few stumbles and who knows how the Titans will finish.
“It’s still hard to believe the Broncos are likely to miss out, and that they could end up as the worst performed Queensland side this season.
“On the back of big outlays after last year’s Grand final and over the pre-season they’re actually still the third most supported side to win the Premiership with TAB, only narrowly holding less money than the Roosters, with Penrith best backed.”
The Broncos have blown out to $251 to produce a miracle and win the title, it’s the longest price they have been in three seasons, having been $4.50 second favourite when the 2024 market opening on Grand Final night last year.
FLASHBACK
The Tigers were back page news on this day 10 years ago with former NRL boss Dave Smith declaring he would fix the club. Smith said the club’s fans “deserved better” as he took aim at the dysfunction at board level.
WEBBY CLEARS THE AIR
Queensland legend Shane Webcke has explained his mysterious absence from Channel 7’s news but stopped short of guaranteeing his long-term future at the embattled television network.
Webcke has disappeared from his nightly slot reading the sport on Queensland’s national 6pm bulletin this week.
Webcke has been reading the sport for nearly two decades and the Mt Cootha rumour mill went into overdrive following recent high-profile departures at Seven, including the popular Sharyn Ghidella.
However there is a simple explanation for Webcke’s absence – he has been struck down by a virus following a trip to the Northern Territory last week.
Webcke wouldn’t address his long-term future at the network but told Sport Confidential he will be back in the chair this weekend.
“I’ll tell you this, I’ll be back at work on Saturday reading the sport,” he said.
TWO MORE FOR TAGO
Jake Tago has been one of the success stories for the Eels and the winger has been rewarded with a two year-contract ahead of his match against his brother Izack.
Jake has recommitted for a further couple of years after making his NRL debut in round 18. He has kept his spot in the top grade since then scoring two tries in his past two matches.
The 25-year-old is a late bloomer into the top grade having watched on as his younger brother had premiership success at the Panthers.
Jake wasn’t even part of Parramatta’s top 30 heading into this year but strong form in the NSW Cup and a run of injuries to his teammates saw him given an opportunity.
He will come head to head with Izack for the first time in the NRL on Friday night.
WALKER’S ON
Dylan Walker has been cleared to play this weekend despite leaving the field and failing to return for what was originally reported as a concussion.
However, Walker was later ruled out of the Warriors match against the Eels because of a throat injury.
There were some question marks when Walker was named to play the Dolphins on Sunday because of the NRL’s mandatory 11-day stand-down policy.
The Warriors went through the appropriate channels during the Warriors last match to clear up the concussion confusion.
Walker played just 22 minutes but is expected to start at lock again for the Warriors on Sunday.
CHOPPERS SCORE BIG
Queenslanders will be safer thanks to the efforts of the Maroons during this year’s Origin series.
The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service in Queensland is $80,000 better off following a donation for the 16 tries scored by Queensland in this year’s men’s and women’s series.
The Queensland Rugby League and Westpac joined forces to donate $5000 for every try scored.
A total of 33 tries were scored by both states, resulting in $165,000 being donated to the Westpac rescue choppers in Queensland and NSW.
MORE MOA
Former Roosters hardman Sam Moa is expected to join Jason Ryles’ coaching staff next season. Moa will be part of Ryles’ totally revamped coaching team which will include former St George Illawarra, Newcastle and Warriors head coach Nathan Brown.
Scott Wisemantel, the former attack coach for the Wallabies and the England rugby union teams, will also join Ryles’ team. Wisemantel was in contention to coach the Waratahs next season.
While Moa and Ryles both played at the Roosters and Catalans their paths never crossed on the playing field.
Moa returned to Australia from Catalans last year where he had transitioned into a coaching position after retiring in 2020.
ANOTHER GAME
The rugby league calendar in Las Vegas will continue to grow with Greece to take on the USA the day before the NRL double header next year.
While four matches will be played on the one day at Allegiant Stadium, Greece and the US will play in a Test match nearby.
The Greek team will be training with the LA Roosters – with the help of Roosters chairman Nick Politis.
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