NRL 2025: Manly Sea Eagles formally request to play Brisbane Broncos at Brookvale for first time in 10 years
The Broncos’ 10-year streak of not playing at Manly’s home ground could be set to change, with the Sea Eagles requesting Brisbane head to Sydney’s Northern Beaches in 2025, along with two other big clubs.
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We want the Broncos back at Brookie – along with the Eels and Roosters.
Manly has formally requested that the NRL send Brisbane back to Brookvale Oval for a sellout game this coming season after a whopping ten-year absence.
It is the longest period that an opposition side hasn’t played a rival team’s regular home venue.
Manly has been financially compensated for taking home games to Brisbane since 2016.
But that deal has now elapsed and Manly hopes the star-studded Broncos will be directed to Sydney’s Northern Beaches when the NRL draw is released next week.
“We want the Broncos to play at 4 Pines Park,” confirmed Manly CEO Tony Mestrov.
The last time Brisbane played at Brookvale was August 1, 2014.
This masthead can also reveal the Sea Eagles have asked the NRL that Parramatta and the Sydney Roosters play games at 4 Pines Park next season.
They are three games Manly insist will be immediate sellouts.
With Manly fans having flocked to Brookvale this year, the club doesn’t require the financial inducement of taking more home games to Magic Round.
“We haven’t played Brisbane at 4 Pines Park since 2014 so we have put in a request to play them at home. It would be exciting to play the Broncos at Brookvale,” Mestrov said.
“We definitely put the Broncos forward because we haven’t played them at home for so long. I dare say that would be a sellout.
“This coming season, we won’t be playing a home game at Magic Round. Parramatta and the Roosters are also historic games for us.
“They would be big crowd pullers. We are looking for home matches where we will get a big following. Parramatta is always massive and would be a sellout.
“Every club gets requested by the NRL to nominate what home games they would like to play. We also let the NRL know that our contract for Magic Round had ceased.”
While plans are still in their infancy, Mestrov did say talks were gently progressing around the possibility of increasing the crowd capacity at Brookvale.
All clubs are encouraged to submit preferred games and dates to the NRL before the draw is announced with the governing body attempting to accommodate as many requests as possible.
Manly attracted 164,728 fans through the 4 Pines gates this season for an average crowd of 16,473.
The Sea Eagles failed to post more than 16,000 just once this year – a wet round nine game against Canberra.
Manly will now play 12 home games at 4 Pines Park next year.
The Sea Eagles and Parramatta Eels always enjoyed a fierce rivalry during the 1980s.
Further details of Manly’s proposed Brookvale Oval redevelopment will emerge over the next year.
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