Everything You Need to Know about the NRL Relocation to QLD

Following last night’s brilliant third round of State of Origin and the NSW team winning the 2021 series, nine of the NRL’s Sydney based teams began relocating to South East Queensland. The decision was made on Sunday evening July 11th, confirming the relocation period for at least 4 weeks. Since then, the final round of State of Origin was also changed to last minute to play on the Gold Coast at Cbus Super Stadium instead of Newcastle turf. This was the first time ever in the city's history to host an origin game. Our team at The Ticket Merchant have everything you need to know about the current NRL relocation to QLD. 

The nine Sydney based teams which have started relocating to Queensland yesterday include: West Tigers, Sea Eagles, Panthers, Dragons, Eels, Rabitohs, Bulldogs, Roosters and Sharks. In addition to this group, Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights will also move to the Sunshine state for the same length of time as well as the New Zealand Warriors who have called Terrigal, NSW home for the last 18 months.

The remaining Queensland clubs haven’t been affected by this relocation, including the Melbourne Storm club who were already based on The Sunshine Coast since earlier this year.

The teams will be separated into three bubbles along South East Queensland, these hubs will be based on The Sunshine Coast, The Gold Coast and Brisbane. These locations were decided based on the safety of teams and staff, quality of stadiums, training facilities and crowd capacities, as well as a few other factors. For the first 14 days, team members and staff are only allowed to travel to and from their training hubs and matches. After the quarantine period is over, families have been given permission to also join their loved ones given they also quarantine and follow the restrictions and guidelines given to them by the cubs and government.

“I want to thank the Queensland Government. I personally have a huge debt of gratitude to the Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk for her support of our game.” the ARLC chairman said Peter V’landys

Where to find your favourites:

The Sunshine Coast
Panthers
Knights
Roosters
Sea Eagles

The Gold Coast

Eels
Bulldogs
Rabbitohs
Raiders

Warriors

Brisbane
West Tigers
Dragons
Sharks

The clubs used will be Suncorp Stadium, Cbus Super Stadium and Sunshine coast stadium.

This decision was confirmed after 77 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Sunday July 11th, with serious concerns from Premier Gladys Berejiklian that this number will significantly increase in the days to come. NRL CEO Andrew Abdo reassures the public that this decision hasn’t come easy, but it’s been made with the very best intentions, “South-east Queensland has multiple stadiums, high quality venues to train, first-class hotel infrastructure and a low risk of COVID-19 infection.

Right now, there are no changes to the teams that have been scheduled to play, instead the location has switched to those in QLD. Peter V’landys, the ARLC chairman confirms this- “We will operate those clubs out of those hubs for a period of four weeks and we will reschedule all of the games that were originally scheduled to be played in New South Wales to either Suncorp Stadium, Cbus Super Stadium or Sunshine Coast Stadium.”

Currently there are eight remaining rounds, with the finals still currently scheduled for September 5th and the grand final on October 3rd. The location of this grand final is up in the air right now, with predictions that it will be held in Brisbane’s very own Suncorp stadium, which would be the first in NRL history.

While things have certainly been shaken up for our favourite footy teams, the focus remains on staying positive, staying safe and enjoying this beautiful sport. Mitchell Pearce from the Knights says, "Whichever team adapts with the best mindset is the team that's going to benefit most out of this last period going into the finals.” We couldn’t agree more!

Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming NRL games:

Round 18:

Cbus Super Stadium

Titans vs Eels Friday 16th @ 6pm

Sea Eagles vs Dragons Friday 16th @ 8:05pm

Raiders vs Sharks Saturday 17th @ 3pm

Rabbitohs vs Bulldogs Sunday 18th @ 6:15pm 

Queensland Country Bank Stadium

Cowboys Vs Roosters Saturday 17th @ 5:30pm 

AAMI Park Stadium

Storm vs Knights Saturday 17th @ 7:35pm 

Suncorp Stadium

Warriors Vs Panthers Sunday 18th @ 1:50pm Broncos vs Tigers Sunday 18th @ 4:05pm

Reach out to our team at The Ticket Merchant and we’ll help you secure the best tickets for these upcoming games and more. We not only offer tickets for sporting events but also concerts, comedy and theater. Stay up to date with the latest in sports and event news by following us on socials and signing up to our mailing list.