The NRL Premiership Grand Final will be held at Sydney’s Accor Stadium this year, but could move from next season.
Every final had been held in Sydney – all at Accor bar the first in 1998 – until last year’s decider was held at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium due to Covid restrictions.
The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) have now confirmed that the match will return to Sydney this year, but only on a one-year deal.
ARLC chairman Peter V’landys said: “This is only for one year, and I have to stress that. It’s not for the long term.”
Having been unable to secure a longer-term deal with the New South Wales government to keep the final there, as initially hoped, further discussions will take place on where to stage them beyond 2022.
V’landys said they were exploring a number of possibilities, including taking it to a different location each year.
“It opens the door for a Super Bowl-type concept, or whoever can give us the best deal for the game,” he said.
Last year’s final was the first to be played in Queensland, which from next season will have four NRL clubs.
They were bidding the host this season as well, and V’landys also suggested taking the match there more often.
“If you pro-rata it, every one in four years should go to Queensland, by rights,” he said. “It has given us the opportunity to look at that now.”
