Fans up in arms as NRL hands out free tickets to Panthers v Storm preliminary final

Fans are up in arms and asking for refunds on their preliminary finals tickets after being alerted to a “desperate” move by the NRL.

Jarome Luai of the Panthers reacts after a no try. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)

The NRL has come under fire for giving away tickets to Friday night’s preliminary final between the Penrith Panthers and Melbourne Storm days after passionate fans of the two clubs paid up to secure their seats.

Rugby league fans took to social media in droves to share their frustration after paying full price to secure their place at the grand final qualifier, only to see multiple giveaway offers from the NRL pop up in the following days.

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It is understood the NRL was forced into the desperate ticket giveaway as sales early in the week were tracking towards a crowd of 30,000 at the 80,000-capacity Accor Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park.

Meanwhile the Broncos-Warriors preliminary final at the 52,000-capacity Suncorp Stadium sold out within an hour.

News.com.au understands the NRL was always anticipating a lower crowd for the Sydney grand final qualifier, given the Storm are an out-of-town team with a small travelling fan base, and preliminary finals in Sydney have historically struggled to attract stadium-filling crowds.

The NRL has been forced to give away tickets to fill the 80,000-capacity Accor Stadium. Picture by Nearmap

While the NRL’s decision to hand out mass tickets for free will mean the embarrassing sight of largely empty grandstands will likely be avoided - it has left many fans with a bad taste in their mouths.

Evidence of the NRL’s desperate push to increase the crowd at Accor Stadium was first reported by former NRL.com journalist Eden Richards on Wednesday as he shared the offer he received for ‘2-for-1’ tickets to the match after purchasing tickets to the NRL grand final.

NRL offering 2-for-1 tickets to #NRLPanthersStorm 💀 pic.twitter.com/Sn7OCRL8bt

— Eden Richards (@Eden_Richards) September 20, 2023

“The NRL would like to thank you for your purchase to the 2023 NRL and NRLW Grand Final. As a show of appreciation, please enjoy an exclusive ‘2-for-1’ ticket offer to this Friday’s clash between the Panthers and Storm at Accor Stadium,” the message shared on X, formerly Twitter, read.

“To redeem this offer simply click the redemption button and use the password above.”

However 2-for-1 offers quickly gave way to free giveaways later in the week as the NRL desperately attempted to fill the stands at Accor Stadium, prompting questioning of why the league didn’t schedule the match to be played at the 30,000-capacity CommBank Stadium in Parramatta.

Jarome Luai has been named a confirmed starter against Melbourne. Picture: Jake Hunter

Jarome Luai passed a fitness test on his injured shoulder. Picture: Jake Hunter

One NRL fan shared an offer of four free tickets to bargain hunting website OzBargain on Thursday, saying he had been offered the deal through his daughter’s school.

“Obviously limited seating location choice, but not a bad option for anyone who was considering going and hadn’t forked out the dosh yet,” the NRL fan wrote alongside a link to the ticket giveaway which had been marked ‘out of stock’ by Friday.

Rabbitohs fan Aaron Eugol shared a similar free tickets deal on X on Thursday that appeared to be for people who had purchased tickets to Tina, the Tina Turner Musical, which is appearing in theatres in October and will also headline the NRL’s grand final entertainment this year.

“Free tickets to the NRL Panthers vs. Storm prelim final,” Eugol wrote alongside a Ticketek link.

“Enter the password NRLTINA4 and click on unlock tickets.”

Free tickets to the NRL Panthers vs Storm prelim final https://t.co/47mfaf4ndM

Enter the password NRLTINA4 and click on unlock tickets. #NRL#NRLFinals#NRLPanthersStorm#PantherPride

— Aaron Eugol (@ajl247) September 21, 2023

The allocation of free tickets appeared to have been exhausted by Thursday evening.

However, hundreds of fans took to social media to share their delight in snapping up the deal for Friday night’s game, along with other giveaways late in the week – without ever having to purchase grand final tickets or show they were ticketed members of NRL clubs.

“Cheers Aaron, just secured tickets,” Mick Attarian wrote on X.

“I’ve had three different free tickets offered to me,” Panthers fan Scottie wrote on X.

“Surely you’ve been offered freebies. Heaps floating around,” NRL fan Pietro wrote.

“NRL is handing out free tickets to Friday night’s game to people that have been to Tina Turner musical this year…. desperate times. Wonder what will happen if it is 2 out of Sydney teams in GF? Free tickets for all I guess,” NRL fan Kotzie wrote.

A free ticket offer was provided to people attending the Tina Turner musical.

A free giveaway offer was posted on OzBargain.

NRL fans who had already purchased tickets at full price earlier in the week were fuming at the free giveaways, with many even asking if they could get a refund on their tickets so they could instead take up the free ones on offer.

A diehard Panthers fan wrote on X: “hey NRL what about those who have spent hundreds or thousands on tickets for both weeks?”

“Great way to repay the loyalty. This is one of the reasons why your administration is so out of touch

“Are we allowed to claim (the free tickets) as well?”

Panthers fan Nat Sinclair wrote: “Real pain is paying $80 for your prelim ticket for them to 24 hours later go down to $40 and another 24 hours later become FREE.”

real pain is paying $80 for your prelim ticket for them to 24 hours later go down to $40 and another 24 hours later become FREE 😅😅😅

— Nat Hanrahan (@nat_sinclair93) September 21, 2023

Wow…

Hey @NRL what about those who have spent hundreds or thousands on tickets for both weeks?

Great way to repay the loyalty. This is one of the reasons why your administration is so out of touch

Are we allowed to claim as well?

— 91 03 21 22 PREMIERS 🐾🏆 (@SnoogThe) September 20, 2023

NRL struggling to shift tickets for our prelim. Surely literally nobody is surprised. Should’ve done what was best for the game and the fans and held it at Parra. But no, NRL see dollar signs and dream of cramming 83,000 punters into Accor.

— 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐎𝐁 🇦🇺 (@MrJacobSheppard) September 21, 2023

And giving them away, my daughter just got offered free tickets from her school.

Must be all those years of hatred towards the panthers is hitting the ticket sales….

— Abbz83 (@abbz83) September 20, 2023

However other fans defended the NRL’s decision to try to fill up the stadium – despite a general agreeance the match should have been played at a smaller stadium that could have easily sold out.

“They are trying to fill the Stadium and provide value for fans, yes they should be able to fill the stadium without doing this, but is this offer (of free tickets) altogether a bad thing?” one fan wrote on X.

“They are playing in a 80,000 capacity stadium, even if 30,000 Penrith fans get out there and 10,000 Melbourne fans it will still look pretty bad. Prob should have played this at Allianz or Commbank. Atmosphere would have been a lot better,” wrote another.

In a statement to news.com.au on Friday an NRL spokesman said: “a range of ticket deals for this Friday night’s Preliminary Final have been offered to fans who have already purchased tickets for the NRL Grand Final and other affiliate events.

“Tickets have also been provided to a variety of charities, schools and community groups.”