NRL to open the new Sydney Football Stadium on September 2

The winner of a three-way battle between the NRL, Wallabies and Matildas to play the first game at the new Sydney Football Stadium can be revealed.

The NRL has won the race to be first to play at the new Sydney Football Stadium.

The NRL has won the hotly contested fight to stage the first fixture at the new $900 million Sydney Football Stadium with a Sydney Roosters v South Sydney Rabbitohs blockbuster on September 2.

Rugby league had to knock off a rugby union bid for a Wallabies v Springboks Test match and soccer’s proposal to get first use of the venue with the Matildas against a strong international side.

We can reveal the Roosters v Rabbitohs grudge match will be played on the Friday night in round 25, with the Wallabies v South Africa clash 24 hours later on the Saturday.

The SCG Trust is expecting 44,000-seat sellouts on the opening two nights.

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The NRL has won the race to be first to play at the new Sydney Football Stadium.

Two of the most powerful figures in sport – independent commission boss Peter V’landys and Roosters supremo Nick Politis – had the sway and connections to get rugby league on to the new turf first in talks with the key stakeholders.

There will be no announcement from the office of Sports Minister Stuart Ayres until builders have completed the project, most likely in the first week of August.

League legends Arthur Beetson (Roosters) and Ron Coote (Roosters and Rabbitohs) will have a grandstand named in their honour before kick-off.

Having rugby league host the opening game is the right outcome.

The site of the old Sydney Sports Ground and then Allianz Stadium has been the Roosters’ home for more than a century. They started in 1908 at the Sydney Showground and moved to the Sportsground in 1911, according to footy historian David Middleton.

While the Roosters, Waratahs and Sydney FC will be the major tenants, there has been talk of Souths returning to their more traditional area rather than playing at Homebush.

Originally published as NRL to open the new Sydney Football Stadium on September 2