NRL

Week 1 of the NRL finals was meant to be a showcase. 

Instead empty seats did most of the talking.

As has been widely debated, Saturday night’s elimination final between Cronulla and North Queensland was shifted from the Sharks’ 15,000-seat Ocean Protect Stadium to the 42,500-capacity Allianz Stadium, and the move backfired spectacularly. 

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With a crowd of barely 17,000 the Moore Park stadium was less than half full with Sharks halfback Nicho Hynes later describing the scene as ‘embarrassing.’

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Sunday afternoon’s Panthers-Roosters qualifying final blockbuster at CommBank Stadium was supposed to rebalance the ledger, but ultimately fared little better with another disappointing crowd of 22,148.

Adding to the frustration of Panthers and Roosters fans, it was reported the NRL had blocked off swathes of prime seating in the lead-up to the match for sponsors and corporate guests rather than releasing them to members and the public, while still charging a premium for lesser quality seats.

Empty stands during finals is clearly bad for the NRL’s optics, sponsors and finances — but what’s driving the drop-off? 

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Relocating ‘home’ finals away from a club’s actual heartland certainly doesn’t help, nor does the fact Penrith has once again been forced to play its home games at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta during 2026 rather than Penrith Park which continues to undergo its rebuild.

Cost-of-living pressure is almost certainly playing a part too, while restricting affordable ticket availability only compounds the problem by locking out the very fans who’d otherwise turn up.

For the NRL the fix isn’t overly complicated, just uncomfortable. 

Prioritise clubs’ true home grounds in Week 1, release full ticket allocations to members before corporate guests, and price finals footy for the fans who built the product, not just the sponsors funding it. 

Two more weekends of finals building to the Grand Final give the NRL a chance to course-correct with better availability and cheaper ticket prices before the embarrassment becomes a pattern.

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Let’s just hope Wahs’ fans are happy to travel to Eden Park next Sunday…