The location of the 2021 NRL Grand Final is up in the air following reconstruction delays of ANZ Stadium, as reported by theย Sydney Herald.ย
The 2020 decider is set to be played at the SCG, and the league may have to keep it there for 2021 or look interstate with ANZ's renovations taking longer than expected.
The SCG is the obvious answer, with the venue set to host Thursday's Anzac Day match between the Roosters and Dragons. However, the SCG has received mixed feedback from Roosters fans amongst Allianz Stadium's rebuild, which is expected to be back up and running for the 2022 season.
Moving the Grand Final interstate is another option, with Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth looming as potential hosting zones. But it does seem improbable that the decider would be moved outside of the game's heartland, given the state government agreed to keep the Grand Final in Sydney under the $1.5 billion stadium renovation.
ANZ Stadium's delays will also affect the Bulldogs, Tigers and Rabbitohs, who will be made to make contingency plans, with Bankwest Stadium a potential solution.
Eels forward Tim Mannah said Bankwest Stadium would always be Parramatta's home.
โWe understand there are going to be a lot of teams that want to play here, itโs a facility that everyone wants a piece of,โ Mannah told theย Sydney Herald.ย
โBut at the end of the day weโre in Parramatta. As much as people want to claim itโs their home, itโs always going to feel like our home.
โItโs hallowed turf. We were listening to some of the old boys this week talking about the old Cumberland Oval.
โThis very spot has a lot of history going back a long time now.
With Cooper Cronk tipped to play one more season in 2020, then what better way to send him out a three year in a row premiership winner at the Roosters Home SCG GROUND๐ช๐๐๐คฃ๐๐คฃ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐