NRL to stage four double-headers in the first 10 rounds of 2018
FOUR Sydney clubs will headline a blockbuster Royal Easter Show double-header as part of a fan-friendly launch to the 2018 NRL season.
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FOUR Sydney clubs will headline a blockbuster Royal Easter Show double-header as part of a fan-friendly launch to the 2018 NRL season.
The NRL will stage an unprecedented four historic double-headers in the first 10 rounds next year across four different cities in two countries.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal 11 different clubs will participate in games to be played in Sydney, Perth, Auckland and Brisbane.
In an all-Sydney extravaganza scheduled for ANZ Stadium, South Sydney will host Manly while Parramatta will take on Cronulla in the first regular-season double-header in the city since 2008.
The round-three double-header will coincide with the start of the 2018 Sydney Royal Easter Show — which will ensure a large crowd and festive atmosphere at Olympic Park.
A crowd of more than 50,000 would make it Sydney’s largest regular-season turnout since 59,708 fans watched the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney battle out the 2013 minor premiership in a memorable round-26 clash.
The new 60,000-seat rectangular Perth Stadium, Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium and Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium will also host double-headers in rounds one, five and 10 respectively.
It will be the first in rugby league history that a premiership draw will contain four double-headers in one season.
The series of double-headers to be announced by the NRL are:
* Perth Stadium, round one, Saturday, March 10: South Sydney v New Zealand Warriors and Canterbury v Melbourne;
* ANZ Stadium, round three, Saturday, March 24: South Sydney v Manly and Parramatta v Cronulla;
* Mt Smart Stadium, round five, Saturday, April 7: Wests Tigers v Melbourne and Warriors v North Queensland; and
* Suncorp Stadium, round 10, Saturday, May 12: Melbourne v Gold Coast and Manly v Brisbane Broncos.
2017 premiers Melbourne, who will be drawcards in three of the double-headers, will begin their premiership defence against the Bulldogs in Perth.
The games in Auckland will include both this year’s grand finalists, Melbourne and North Queensland, in a coup for the NRL against rugby union.
“We will have double headers in four major cities — three in Australia and one in New Zealand,” NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said.
“This is a huge step for the game and I’d like to thank the clubs involved for their efforts to embrace the concept and ensure the matches eventuated.
“This is also a direct result of us having more control over the premiership schedule in 2018.
“We have had significant success with double-headers at Suncorp Stadium in recent seasons and this is a natural progression. It will create more blockbuster events for our fans in 2018.”
The NRL will confirm the double headers this morning.
“We’re all looking forward to being part of these double-header game days and we’re also looking forward to seeing the red and green army out in force,” Souths CEO Blake Solly said.
“We’ve already signed up over 15,000 members for next season as we head towards out target of 30,000 and these double-header game days give our members a great opportunity to show they are the most passionate in the game.”
There will also be a pre-season double header on Saturday, February 17 at ANZ Stadium when English giants Wigan play Souths and Hull FC take on St George Illawarra.