NRL 2023: Broncos have played just three games in Sydney this season

Should the Broncos make the grand final, the preliminary finalists won’t have played in Sydney for 78 days thanks to a favourable draw.

Broncos.

The Brisbane Broncos may need a GPS navigation system to find Sydney’s Accor Stadium, should they reach the grand final on Sunday week.

Unbelievably, Brisbane will have played three of 29 matches this year in Sydney. Yes, just 240 minutes all season.

They have rarely left their sunny state all season.

Brisbane’s only games in Sydney this season were against Cronulla, Penrith and Canterbury. And the Panthers match was way back in round one.

The Broncos away game against Cronulla was on June 3, their match against the Bulldogs at Belmore on July 15.

Should they make the grand final, Brisbane wouldn’t have played in Sydney for 78 days.

Of the club’s 25 NRL games this season, Brisbane has played 12 matches at Suncorp Stadium, three at the Gabba and one each at Cbus Stadium on the Gold Coast, Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville and Sunshine Coast Stadium.

Brisbane also played three trials in Queensland – two on the Sunshine Coast against Gold Coast and North Queensland and another against Wynnum at Kougari Oval, Wynnum.

Brisbane has only played three games in Sydney this year.

And you can mark down another game in Brisbane in Saturday night’s preliminary final against the Warriors at Suncorp Stadium.

That means Brisbane has played at six different stadiums around their home state. Including Friday night’s game that’s 22 from 29 games in Queensland this season.

“Only three games in Sydney all year? That’s really interesting,” said former NSW captain, Ben Elias, who always enjoys taunting Queensland.

“You could argue Brisbane has enjoyed a smooth ride having played all those games this year in Queensland. They will come here with sun tans.

“You’d think Queensland was the epicentre of rugby league if you followed the Broncos. Well, it’s not, it’s NSW – always has been, always will be.

“But the grand final is in Sydney, if they make it, and Sydney is a foreign city to them this year.

“Great teams have to win everywhere and it seems on face value that Brisbane have been cocooned away virtually all year up there in the so-called Sunshine State.”

Rival clubs offer a curious smile when told about Brisbane’s remarkable amount of games in Queensland.

“Flat track bullies at home,” said one Sydney-based player.

Other Brisbane games this season were played in Darwin, Canberra, Melbourne and Napier.

Brisbane will start $1.26 favourites against the Warriors ($3.90) to advance to the October 1 grand final, according to TAB.

Originally published as NRL 2023: Broncos have played just three games in Sydney this season