“Where else would you have it?”, former NRL referee and now Queensland sport minister Tim Mander said on Thursday at the launch of Magic Round, rugby league’s annual expo. It was a rhetorical question, but it did – for a moment at least – let the imagination wander.
Perth could work, given WA premier Roger Cook’s preference for rugby league and the imminent arrival of the Bears. Elsewhere, Adelaide Oval’s proximity to the CBD is kick-on heaven, just ask AFL fans. Melbourne and of course Sydney can put on a show. Or could the NRL try the Gold Coast, Townsville, Newcastle, even New Zealand?
“It’s great for Queensland.” Mander’s proud but suddenly desperate words echoed through the fan festival on the Lang Park forecourt. “But it’s also great for the NRL,” he said. “We hope that the relationship will continue.”
Just as an estimated 50,000 rugby league fans descend on Brisbane for this weekend’s festivities, the relationship that Mander speaks of is far from certain to endure. A deal with the Queensland government to host Magic Round expires at the end of the 2027 season. “We’re very, very happy for that relationship to continue, for hopefully years to come,” Mander said.
The heart sinks when a friend showers love and affection on their partner, who is only tepid in return. “2028 is a long time away, and the next two years are about investing and growing the game here, and growing the spectacle,” Andrew Abdo, NRL chief executive, said. “And for as long as we see people enjoying coming to Brisbane, enjoying Magic Round and traveling for it, and its popularity grows, I’d love to be able to see it stay here.”
Queensland has been the victim of its own success. More than 150,000 attendees and 6m television viewers are expected to enjoy the entertainment in this year’s sixth iteration of a concept first developed by the code in the UK. Its popularity has sparked local imitations, some successful – like the AFL’s Gather Round – while others, like rugby’s Super Round and the A-League’s Unite Round, have been less so.
But the country’s rugby league expo is now rightly seen as an asset by the code’s officials, and some believe there is a need in the competitive environment of Australian sport to realise its full economic value.
Sydney is the obvious alternative. Accor Stadium at Homebush became a carnival during the 2023 Women’s World Cup, and sponsor activations, food trucks and bars between the arena and the train station might just sustain the thousands of NRL fans who think 240 minutes of rugby league on a Saturday is not enough. Allianz Stadium offers a more upmarket option, and would give rugby league fans from Bowen to Bega an invitation to sample the shinier side of the Emerald City.
Melbourne’s appeal is obvious, with three venues close to the city. An MCG-hosted showpiece – off the back of the success of Melbourne’s State of Origin last year – complemented by games at AAMI Park would offer a cosmopolitan twist to the rugby league formula. A South Queensland Crushers jersey might not look out of place between the baristas and boutiques of Flinders Lane.
But in both cases, Magic Round would lose much of its sparkle. It takes an Olympics to unite Sydney across its vast geography and isolated centres. And down in Richmond across from AAMI Park, there is only room for one Tigers.
Brisbane still has a few cards to play. Suncorp Stadium may have been left out of the Queensland government’s Olympics infrastructure plan announced in March. But the venue is a source of pride for the city. Mander described it on Thursday as “the best rugby league stadium in the world” and added “we want to make sure that it maintains that standard”.
There is also Caxton Street. Few places exude rugby league culture like the strip of asphalt leading down to Lang Park. There is a reason the NRL bought a hotel halfway up the road. The pubs and restaurants within earshot of the main stadium act as Magic Round’s beating heart. Nine games of football across four days, plus complementary events, podcast recordings and meet-and-greets, could wash away in another city. But on Caxton Street during Magic Round, rugby league’s ink never runs dry.
Looking out over the city’s famous brown snake in the hours before Women’s State of Origin as a tyre – complete with rim – bobs by, one is left to wonder whether the grass may be greener elsewhere. Or, how much another state might pay for the privilege of putting up tens of thousands of men in coloured polyester. But sometimes, you can’t mess with magic.
