Footy supremo Peter V’landys jokes that NRL grand final goes to Melbourne before being forced into Humbling backdown as biggest game of the year remains in Sydney
The 2022 big NRL final will be played at Sydney’s Accor Stadium
It comes after Peter V’landys lobbied to move the game to Brisbane
It’s a humiliating backdown for the ARL chairman after a stadium malfunction
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Footy supremo Peter V’Landys has been forced into a humiliating retreat, announcing that the NRL grand final will remain in Sydney despite publicly lobbying the NSW government since April.
The Australian Rugby League Commission chairman caused the entire football world to have a mini heart attack when he said the grand final would move to Melbourne.
“I’ll be very short and sweet, the committee has been negotiating for over a week now,” V’landys said at the press conference, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“So we wanted to give it to a city that needs a big football event, so we went for Melbourne. Just kidding… greetings Gil (McLachlan) if you’re watching.’
It may have been an attempt by V’landys to save face after he couldn’t get what he wanted after threatening the state government with his push for a grand finale in Queensland.
NRL heads Peter V’landys (right) and Andrew Abdo (left) announced the NRL grand final would remain in Sydney
He then revealed that the match would be played at Accor Stadium in Homebush on October 2, after the league chose not to move it to Brisbane.
Hosting rights for the contest had been in doubt since April when the NRL and the NSW government clashed over funding for suburban land improvements.
“We have made a decision that we believe is in the best interest of our fans and that is to hold the game in Sydney this year,” said V’landys.
In April, V’landys issued an ominous warning to Dominic Perrottet that the rugby league’s biggest flagship could go to Queensland for the second year running.
The NRL was at odds with the state government over funding for suburban grounds, with V’landys openly criticizing the decision to roll back an $800 million upgrade to Accor Stadium.
More to come…