The NRL gets so many things right — growing the game, investing in grassroots, and building world-class stadiums. But every now and then, they completely drop the ball and make the competition look like a bush league. Hosting a finals match at Shark Park in front of just 13,000 to 15,000 people is a deadset joke.
I was actually at this ground for the first time last week for their clash against the Knights, and oh boy, it is a shit hole. I actually thought the talk about the portable toilets, and it looking like a construction site on the hill with temporary fencing and electrical leads lying around was a piss take, but I was wrong. The beers were cold, though, and I still had a ripper of an arvo to be fair, but to suggest it’s good enough for finals footy is outrageous.
What’s the point of building incredible stadiums like CommBank and Allianz if we’re not going to use them for the biggest games of the year? I get that this particular game can’t be played at Allianz — the Roosters can’t finish 8th and earn a home final. Fair enough. But what’s wrong with CommBank?
Why are we locking 10,000-plus fans out of a do-or-die finals match? If the NRL doesn’t allow the Sharks to host games at Shark Park past Week 1 of the finals, then why allow it in Week 1? A finals game is a finals game. It should be played at a proper stadium, not a glorified suburban ground, and it should give as many fans as possible the chance to get amongst it.
Shark Park's limited capacity and outdated facilities have placed the venue in the NRL's crosshairs – and it is set to prompt a major finals policy review.
— CODE NRL (@codenrl) September 8, 2025
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Andrew Abdo has come out saying they will take a look at moving games to bigger capacity stadiums in the future. If he and the rest of the NRL head honchos had a brain, this would already be the case.
We’ve seen all year how electric the atmosphere can be when big crowds show up. Do I think Sharks vs Roosters at a neutral venue would pack out 50,000 seats? Of course not. But it would still pull a hell of a lot more than what we’ll get this weekend at one of the worst professional stadiums in the world.
And for what it’s worth, I reckon the Sharks themselves should want to start playing these bigger games at better venues. Maybe they wouldn’t bottle it in every big moment if they were actually used to playing in front of more than 10,000 fans every second week.
Roosters 13+. The Sharks are pretenders.
I guess if I had the choice between a nice new stadium or a football club that consistently makes the finals and has won a Premiership in the last 37 years, I’d choose the latter 😉
Haha owned Jack
I think I would choose supporting just about any club barring the Titans over Parra for what it’s worth.
But can’t choose your local side where you grow up. Any anyone that picks another team is a loser in my opinion.
Here’s to another 37 years of pain and misery 🎉🎉🎉