A full week of celebration has begun ahead of the NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final Day next Sunday (October 2) at Accor Stadium.
The Grand Final teams were confirmed this weekend with Penrith Panthers taking on Parramatta Eels in the men’s decider, while Newcastle Knights will play Parramatta Eels in the NRLW Grand Final. Penrith Panthers will play Norths Devils in the NRL State Championship.
The NRL has announced a week of activity highlighted by a three-day (Wednesday to Friday) Fan Fest crammed full of colour at Sydney’s Martin Place.
“Grand Final Week is a celebration of the season, with the two remaining Clubs in each of the NRL and NRLW Telstra Premierships competing to create a piece of history,” NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said. “We have the best sports competitions in the world and tribal clubs, brilliant athletes, loyal partners and passionate fans of rugby league will all converge in Sydney to celebrate this.”
NSW Minister for Tourism Ben Franklin said it was fantastic to have the NRL Grand Final back in the nation’s birthplace of rugby league and its spiritual home.
“The NRL competition has its strongest supporter base in Sydney and the week-long celebration leading up to the big game is a very exciting time for the city. The NRL Grand Final also makes a vital contribution to the NSW visitor economy with rugby league fans from across the country flocking to Sydney to be part of the game’s showpiece event. I wish both teams the best of luck and can’t wait to see all the colour of 83,000 fans at a packed Accor Stadium again this Sunday.”
Grand Final Week will be officially launched on Monday evening on the shores of Sydney Harbour with representatives of the men’s and women’s Grand Finals, as well as fans.
The NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final teams will be presented to Fan Fest on Thursday, September 29, while the NRL Telstra Women’s Premiership teams will appear at Fan Fest on Friday, September 30.
More than $50,000 in prizes will be given away across the three days at Grand Final Fan Fest, which will be free for fans of all ages, while stars from all Clubs will make appearances. Additional exciting experiences will include a Youi virtual kick, a vertical jump test, a Telstra Tracker LED interactive race, merchandise and face painting, live music from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Indigenous cultural performances.
The week will also include the 2022 Dally M Awards, at Winx Stand, Royal Randwick Racecourse, on Wednesday, September 28.
It will be the biggest ever Dally M Awards - with a fully integrated NRL and NRLW presence throughout the awards for the first time ever.
In another first, the NRL and Touch Football Australia will be on show at one of Australia's most iconic locations - Bondi Beach – on Saturday, October 1. There will be Beach Touch Footy matches, League Stars clinics, pumping music and a fun festival atmosphere on the famous sands.
For the second time, the NRL’s major partner Telstra will award grants to junior clubs following the NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final. In 2022, the commitment will extend to the NRL Telstra Women’s Premiership Grand Final winners and runners up.
Overall, Telstra will award more than $200,000 to junior rugby league clubs - $5,000 to the Junior Club of each player in the Grand Final winning teams, and an additional grant of $20,000 awarded to the Junior Club Association of the runner up teams.
The Telstra Junior Club Grants will be awarded during the special post-match presentations on Sunday night.
The final allocation of tickets for the Grand Final will go on sale tomorrow (Monday, September 26). The competing clubs’ Ticketed Members will have access to tickets from 10am tomorrow, while competing clubs’ non-ticketed members can purchase tickets from 1pm tomorrow. NRL account holder can access tickets from 4pm tomorrow.
The final allocation of General Public tickets will be available at 10am on Tuesday (September 27) via nrl.com/tickets.
Further details about media opportunities across the week will be issued subsequently.
