V’landys open to unprecedented NRL GF move

Rugby league boss Peter V’landys is prepared to take the NRL grand final to Melbourne this year, sending a warning to the NSW government to pay up for the event.

The NRL decider has been played in Sydney in all but one year since 1908 – when the 2021 grand final was moved to Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium due to COVID-19 restrictions.

V’landys threatened to move last year’s decider before ultimately keeping it in Sydney, but said the NSW government would have “to get the chequebook out” to keep the grand final again this year.

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The Australian Rugby League Commission chairman told The Age and Sydney Morning Herald that the prospect of the grand final being played at the MCG “could be an option for us”.

V’landys’ comments came after Visit Victoria CEO Brendan McClements suggested the state was keen to add to its list of showpiece sporting events.

McClements made it clear that Victoria is eyeing this year’s NRL grand final as well as key matches in the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

”Peter (V’landys) also said recently: ‘I haven’t got a deal for the NRL grand final.’ It’s a purely commercial decision. Our phone hasn’t rung,” he said at the SportNXT conference in Melbourne.

“I have got 35,000 more seats for Peter. In a purely commercial decision, that is $4-5 million waiting for him. So, I would like to talk to Peter at some stage about that.”

Victoria is no stranger to hosting key rugby league fixtures, having hosted multiple State of Origin clashes over the years, the most recent being the 2018 series opener which NSW won 22-12.

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