NSW premier dismisses Queensland’s bid for NRL grand final

Queensland is prepared to step in and take the NRL grand final from traditional hosts, Sydney, amid uncertainty over future hosting rights, while one of the sport’s icons has suggested the Melbourne Cricket Ground should also be considered.

Annastacia Palaszczuk’s government on Wednesday would not be drawn on reports it had made a bid to steal the grand final away from Sydney but said it was “happy to talk to the NRL about any proposal”.

“Queensland is a global hub for major events,” a spokesperson for the sport minister said. “We’re in regular contact with the NRL to secure more football content for Queensland.”

In 2018 the New South Wales government secured hosting rights for Accor stadium in Homebush until 2042, in a long-term deal with the NRL that was dependent on major redevelopment works being undertaken at the old Olympic Stadium.

At the time, then NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said there was a real possibility Sydney could lose the grand final to Brisbane had her government not committed to upgrading its stadiums.

But in 2020, the state government’s backflip on its promise to convert the ground into a more football-friendly rectangular stadium had reportedly left the deal dead in the water, and opened up the possibility of the game being taken elsewhere.

A report in the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday claimed 12 months of negotiations between the NSW government and the NRL over the terms of the original deal were coming to a head.

The NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, who will reportedly meet with Australian Rugby League Commission chair, Peter V’landys, later this week, said the “NRL grand final will be played in Sydney”.

“No one wants the grand final in Queensland, including Peter [V’landys],” Perrottet