By Roy Ward
Melbourne Storm chief executive Justin Rodski has urged the Victorian government to put the MCG at the centre of a bid for the NRL grand final.
Rodski has been campaigning for the Storm to take advantage of the AFL leaving the state for Gather Round by playing a Storm versus New Zealand Warriors game at the MCG in future, which he said could be a platform for Melbourne to steal a future NRL decider from Sydney.
Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen make a break at AAMI Park earlier this season.Credit: Getty Images
The Storm boss, who previously had a senior position at AFL club Essendon, knows it won’t be straightforward to secure a coveted booking at the MCG amid its increasingly packed schedule of sporting events and concerts.
New South Wales has hosted every NRL grand final except the 2021 decider – played in Brisbane because of COVID-19. NSW secured hosting rights for this year’s grand final, but beyond that, the league is open to other cities bidding to host the match.
Given its record of strong crowds for State of Origin games, Rodski believes a successful Storm game at the MCG when the AFL vacates Victoria for a week and heads to Gather Round would make a strong case for the Victorian government to put in a bumper bid to bring the grand final to Melbourne.
“I don’t see any reason why the NRL shouldn’t consider the MCG and why the Victorian Government shouldn’t consider the NRL grand final,” Rodski said.
“The two come together beautifully. The timing would be spectacular. It would just be a huge event and one of the biggest crowds in NRL grand final history.
“The people of Melbourne are ready for it, I’d love to see a Storm game as the precursor to that.
“We’ve seen through State of Origin [at the MCG] that Melbourne fans love blockbuster sports events. How big would it be to have the AFL grand final and then the NRL grand final? It would be pretty special.”
The Storm are convinced that with the right promotion and surrounding cultural events, the Storm and Warriors could draw 50,000 fans or more by tapping into their extended supporter bases around Australia and New Zealand.
Melbourne Storm chief executive Justin Rodski, middle, has big dreams of his club taking to the MCG.Credit: Melbourne Storm
The two clubs will play at AAMI Park this Sunday, a game which was declared a sellout on Friday with about 29,000 fans expected.
“I don’t know if the crowd is going to be for us or for the Warriors – I think every Storm member’s second team is the Warriors or their first team,” Storm star Xavier Coates said with a laugh on Wednesday.
“I think it’s going to be a pretty hostile environment even though it’s a home game, but the boys are really looking forward to it.”
Rodski said the Storm’s MCG match was inspired by an annual event in Premiership Rugby in England called The Big Game where Harlequins move a men’s and women’s regular-season game to the 82,000 capacity Twickenham during the Christmas holidays.
“We have a short history but the fact that we’re starting to sell out home games and the opportunity of having no AFL [games] in town and what that brings – you put all that together, and with the help of our stakeholders and partners, we could potentially launch something like that,” Rodski said.
The Storm knows they would need to ensure a big enough crowd at the game to prevent the 100,000-capacity venue from looking empty.
“There would obviously be very affordable ticketing plus the event, concert and cultural components would bring in a new audience to come and enjoy the experience,” Rodski said.
“We could bring 40,000 to 50,000 Storm fans who are also AFL fans and the Warriors are our biggest home game each year, and that’s purely off the large migrant population of Kiwis in Melbourne.
“I have no doubt there would be a combination of Warriors fans from Victoria, Australia and from across the ditch who would want to be a part of this event.”
Rodski said the Storm would need support from the state government and other stakeholders to make a game at the MCG work, given the added cost of operating the venue.
“We wouldn’t be able to do it on our own,” he said.
A Melbourne Cricket Club spokesperson said the MCG had a busy schedule in the coming years including an NFL game next year and the 150th anniversary of Test cricket match in March 2027.
Melbourne Storm’s Richard Swain carries the ball against St George Illawarra at the MCG in 2000.Credit: Michael Clayton-Jones
The venue also needs to leave time free between events for turf management.
“There have been no formal discussions about hosting an NRL match at the MCG in 2026,” the spokesperson said.
“However, the concept as we understand it would present challenges based on the heavy event schedule planned at the MCG over the next three years.”
The Victorian government won’t rule out making a future bid for the NRL grand final or helping the Storm secure an MCG home game.
The MCG before Carlton and Hawthorn’s clash on March 20.Credit: Getty Images
“As Australia’s major events capital, we’re always working to secure major events that boost tourism and support jobs across the state,” a government spokesperson said when asked about the games.
The AFL and NRL were contacted for comment.
While he has yet to broach the topic of the MCG match with the AFL, Rodski said he had held preliminary talks about the availability of Marvel Stadium for some future Storm matches or finals.
The Storm played some matches at Marvel when AAMI Park was used for FIFA Women’s World Cup matches in 2023.
Storm confident on Bellamy
Rodski is also confident Storm coach Craig Bellamy will extend his 22-year tenure as coach for 2026 and possibly beyond.
The Storm and Bellamy are due to sit down in the coming weeks to begin talks about a new contract.
Bellamy has been on a series of one-year deals in recent years.
“He’s certainly coaching as well as he ever has,” Rodski said.
“We’ll sit down with him in the next week or so and start those discussions.
“Hopefully, we will be in position in the next couple of weeks, if not next month, to confirm he’s hopefully staying put for at least one more year.”
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