Albo, Murdoch . . . Allan: Inside the NRL’s grand final suite

4 hours ago 1

Be careful what you wish for.

Sydney rugby league fans who spent years praying for an end to the Penrith Panthers’ dynasty were treated to a clash between two eminently hateable interstate powerhouses in the Brisbane Broncos and the Queensland (sorry, Melbourne) Storm in Sunday night’s NRL Grand Final.

The Broncos brought hordes of Queenslanders with them south of the border, while despite CBD’s search for a rival contingent from Melbourne, a bona fide Storm diehard remains about as elusive as bigfoot.

The lack of a Sydney team didn’t stop plenty of firepower descending on the plush confines of Accor Stadium for the showdown. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was in attendance in the NRL’s suite, no doubt among the first names on head honcho Peter V’landys’ guest list.

Chief among the heavy hitters was News Corp chair Lachlan Murdoch, who also attended the NRL’s inaugural Las Vegas jamboree last year. The empire’s scion might live in a Bellevue Hill mansion when in Australia, but is technically also the Broncos’ big boss – News Corp is a majority owner of the Queensland club.

Also in the mix of corporate titans was Seven West Media boss Jeff Howard and Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn.

Another consequence of the non-NSW grand final was that the NRL’s suite resembled a meeting of national cabinet. Making the trip to Sydney was Queensland Premier David Crisafulli, the last Liberal premier standing on the mainland with a bit of a spring in his step, what with the Lions roaring to back-to-back AFL premierships last week, the Broncos facing off against their Melbourne-based Maroon compatriots, and an Olympic Games on the horizon.

Less springy of step, fellow guest NSW Premier Chris Minns probably wished he could’ve watched his beloved Bulldogs return to the big game, only for the Belmore boys to get bounced from the finals in straight sets after a promising season. Still, it was an opportunity for Minns to reprise his bromance with V’landys. The pair bonded over their failed attempt to sell off Rosehill racecourse to build more housing, with the premier later gushing that Sydney needed 10, rather than one, V’landys. A terrifying thought.

Meanwhile, it’s hard to conceive of two entities more different than the Victorian Labor government and the Melbourne Storm. The Victorian government staged the Yoorrook Justice Commission to support its Treaty and truth telling processes.

The Storm had to apologise after controversially cancelling its Welcome to Country ceremony on Anzac Day, putting many noses out of joint.

Storm co-founder and director Brett Ralph is a significant donor to right-wing lobby group Advance, while chairman Matt Tripp made his fortune in online wagering.

Not a great fit with the state Labor government’s progressivism.

But state pride overrides everything, particularly the whiff of a sporting victory that would humiliate both Queensland and NSW in one hit. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan likes to spend weekends at home in Bendigo and is rarely spotted at a Metropolis unless to crow about her role in Labor’s historic federal election victory, or attend the AFL grand final. But Allan was tempted north by the prospect of a Storm victory, flying to Sydney on Sunday.

The Liberals might be battling extinction in Sydney, but they’re not so irrelevant as to miss out on invitations to the big game. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley was in the box, and while her NSW counterpart Mark Speakman was otherwise engaged, deputy Natalie Ward showed up.

Meanwhile, fresh from getting cabinet approval for a landmark defence security deal with Australia, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape joined Albanese at the game, as he did last year.

Rugby League remains a potent diplomatic tool in a region where Australia is battling China for influence, with the Albanese government promising $600m to help get a PNG team into the NRL by 2028.

CBD was not in attendance at the power suite on Sunday night, which is shocking given this column is nothing but unfailingly nice to V’landys. Nonetheless, our spies made it in for long enough to hear NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo tell the crowd that 220 million Australians and Kiwis watched NRL this year, in a remark that raised a few eyebrows. New Zealand must’ve gotten quite big while we were looking the other way.