Cronulla have been forced out of the Shire for the opening week of the NRL finals, with the Sharks to face North Queensland at Allianz Stadium instead of Ocean Protect Stadium.
The decision means South Sydney will also stage its elimination final at the 42,000-capacity Moore Park venue, while the New Zealand Warriors have secured a qualifying final at Go Media Stadium. The Auckland club could yet move to Eden Park for a later match in the play-offs.
The finals series will begin with the Rabbitohs taking on Newcastle at Allianz Stadium, rather than the much larger Accor Stadium. The Knights were deemed unlikely to attract enough support to justify a switch to the 80,000-seat Olympic Park ground.
Penrith, the minor premiers, will remain at CommBank Stadium for their one-versus-four clash with the Sydney Roosters. The Panthers and Roosters met at Allianz Stadium only three weeks ago, when the visitors prevailed 12-6 in front of 16,768 spectators.
Sharks told to leave Ocean Protect Stadium
Cronulla’s removal from its home ground is the most contentious of the venue decisions. The Sharks have hosted finals at the stadium in recent seasons, including last year’s elimination victory over the Roosters, but the NRL has concluded that a larger venue is required for their meeting with the Cowboys.
Peter V’landys, the Australian Rugby League Commission executive chairman, said the move was intended to ensure Cronulla supporters were not excluded from the match.
“We want to look after all the Cronulla supporters – we don’t want any of them to miss out – and this way none of them will miss out,” V’landys said. “We’ll make sure we put on additional transport so they can make a real event of it.”
The Sharks drew 12,842 spectators for last year’s home elimination final against the Roosters, while 12,570 attended their 2023 defeat by the same opponents. A golden-point loss to the Cowboys in 2022 attracted 12,447.
Cronulla chief executive Dino Mezzatesta said the club accepted the decision but believed it highlighted an inconsistency in the NRL’s approach to finals venues.
“If you earn the right to play at home, you should be able to play at home,” Mezzatesta said. “Other teams have not been asked to move to bigger venues, so there’s been no parity in that sense.”
Mezzatesta said the Sharks would work to fill Allianz Stadium with their own supporters, adding: “We need more than 15,000 supporters because that’s the whole point of moving away. We need to turn that place black, white and blue.”
The Sharks and Cowboys attracted fewer than 20,000 spectators when they met in a semi-final at Allianz Stadium in 2024.
Warriors retain home-ground advantage
The Warriors had been under pressure to move their qualifying final from Go Media Stadium, which holds about 26,000 people, to Eden Park. The NRL resisted that option for the opening week, although V’landys said the larger Auckland venue remained a possibility later in the finals.
“Eden Park is 100 per cent on the map,” he said.
Warriors chief executive Cameron George welcomed the decision to keep the club in Auckland’s central venue for the first week, while leaving the door open to a future move.
“We’re thankful the NRL listened to us,” George said. “The reality is Penrith get to remain at CommBank and avoid a move to a bigger stadium, and it’s great we get to stay put in the first week.”
South Sydney will also remain at Allianz Stadium, where the club has established a strong connection during the 2026 season. The Rabbitohs are scheduled to play four regular-season matches there in 2027 and five in 2028.
Chief executive Blake Solly said the venue had become a genuine home ground for the club, pointing to Alex Johnston’s record-breaking try, a 2022 final against the Roosters and the side’s recent tribute match for Jai Arrow.
“We showed on Friday night Moore Park is very much a home ground for the Rabbitohs,” Solly said. “We look forward to creating more iconic moments into the future.”
