NRL 2021: Sunshine Coast Stadium set to host two elimination finals

The NRL is poised to lock in venues for this year’s finals series and while Brisbane is tipped to host the decider there’ll be plenty of action elsewhere.

Footy finals are coming to the Sunshine Coast with the NRL to take some of the biggest games of the year out of Brisbane.

The NRL is expected to on Wednesday confirm venues for the upcoming finals series which will be played entirely in Queensland for the first time.

The league was still finalising venues on Tuesday, but what is clear is Sunshine Coast Stadium will host two finals matches.

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The Kawana venue will host an elimination game in each of the first two weeks of the finals.

Other venues in regional Queensland have also been explored as potential finals venues following a push from the state government to take the NRL out of the city.

Sunshine Coast Stadium is set to host matches during the NRL finals. Picture: Tom Threadingham

The NRL has investigated playing finals in Townsville, however the costs and logistics of hosting games in north Queensland adds another layer of complexity.

There have been suggestions a finals double-header could be hosted at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville.

Since relocating the entire competition to the Sunshine State, the NRL has experienced better support in the regions for non-Queensland teams than they have in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

With crowd capacity back to 100 per cent, the qualifying and preliminary finals are expected to be hosted at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane and Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast.

Suncorp is also expected to host the NRL grand final for the first time.

After struggling to attract NRL attention for years, the Sunshine Coast has hosted a stack of games over the past two years and became home to the Melbourne Storm during their 2020 premiership season.

Sunshine Coast mayor Mark Jamieson told The Courier-Mail last week he wanted to see more regular NRL action in the region.

“We have a good stadium and people love coming to the Sunshine Coast to watch the footy,” he said.

Sunshine Coast Stadium has been a home away from home for Melbourne Storm. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

“Our plan is to have as many NRL games as possible and once Covid passes, we are happy to talk to a range of clubs about playing NRL matches on the Sunshine Coast.

“If we are going to develop the game, the population of Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast is well on its way to 1 million people. This area has the capacity to sustain elite sporting teams.”

Jamieson has offered his council’s support for the Dolphins NRL bid team in the hope they will play games on the Sunshine Coast if granted the game’s 17th licence.

QLD WANTS BUSH BOOST ON TOP OF NRL GRAND FINAL

— Robert Craddock, Chris Honnery

Queensland is fighting to land a “bush bonus’’ for fans during fierce negotiations to host this year’s NRL grand final.

The Queensland Government is understood to have told NRL powerbrokers it wants a rural spin-off as part of any deal to host the 2021 decider.

The government has asked whether NRL games could be taken to the state’s regions, to places such as Mackay and Rockhampton next season, no matter what the Covid situation is at that time.

The crowd at Mackay watching the Raiders v Warriors clash last weekend.

Both Mackay and Rockhampton have successfully hosted NRL games this year, with thousands of fans turning out for each match.

Now, the state government is hoping for a flow-on effect into next season and beyond for regional towns if the NRL Grand Final is played north of the border in about a months’ time.

Negotiations for the decider have become a fascinating and robust tug of war with the balance of power delicately poised as both parties believe they are doing the other a favour.

The NRL consider the grand final their sacred ruby and believe Queensland should be prepared to pay in some form for the right to host it.

But the Queensland Government knows it has the high ground because the NRL has no realistic alternative with Covid-challenged Sydney and Melbourne out of play.

Plenty of fans turned up to watch Dragons v Cowboys at Rockhampton in round 24.

There was a fleeting suggestion the game could be taken to Auckland, but that is now off the table.

Queensland has also argued that the traditional financial benefits associated with hosting such a major match are diminished because border closures would mean minimal interstate visitors.

Melbourne Storm owners recently suggested they may offer $10 million to help bring the decider to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but the Covid situation in Melbourne now makes that offer untenable.

With the NRL playing out the rest of the regular season in Queensland, the Sunshine State appears in the box seat to host this year’s decider.

If the premiership decider is played in Queensland, it will be the first time it will not be played in Sydney.

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There is an expectation that Suncorp Stadium will be named as the host of this year’s decider by the end of the week and stadium boss Alan Graham said earlier this month they were ready to go.

“To have the opportunity to host the grand final would be an absolutely amazing reward for the state,” Graham said. “Not only for what Queensland has done for the past month but overall their support for rugby league through all those years.

“If unfortunately Sydney is unable to host it, then there’s really only one other option if you’re thinking about the long-term future of the code.”

Originally published as NRL 2021: Sunshine Coast Stadium set to host two elimination finals