Last week, the National Rugby League and the New South Wales government were locked in a stand-off over funding of suburban stadiums, and for a few days, the grand final was held to ransom. Ultimately, the decider will stay in Sydney in 2022, with commercial-in-confidence protocols ensuring the details will not be made known to the public.

What is most interesting about the negotiations is that the chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission Peter V’Landys mentioned that Sydney may not assume it will be the ‘forever’ home of the grand final.

With COVID-19 forcing the 2021 decider to be played in Brisbane, the tradition of playing the game in Sydney since 1908 has been broken. That may make it easier for the match to be taken elsewhere in the future. The system works in the USA for major events such as the Super Bowl and Wrestlemania, with the host city being named a year in advance. In Australia, bidding syndicates could work with government, tourism bodies, schools and industry in an attempt to entice the grand final to their city.

With Melbourne long believing they are Australia’s sporting capital, Brisbane being the rugby league heartland, and Perth and Sydney having new stadia with state-of-the-art facilities, there could be much public interest in the announcement, which may be made during grand final week, perhaps at the Dally M Awards.

Whether the idea goes ahead or was a mere thought bubble, the last two seasons have shown Sydney can no longer rest on their laurels.