🏉 Sydney Secures NRL Season Decider

Good morning, it's Friday, 19 August. We finally got some answers yesterday. We know where the NRL Grand Final is going to be played and we found out where Wally is (he's up behind the lion. Classic Wally). We still don't know where Alastair Clarkson will coach, but while we wait there's plenty of sports news to catch up on and loads to look forward to this weekend. Let's roll.

⏱ 1,202 words = 5 minutes

👀 "Greetings, Gil, if you're watching"

THE MAIN GAME

🏉 And the winner is... Sydney!

After all the emergency meetings, crisis talks, broken promises, handshakes, negotiations and a pretty bad gag (see below), the NRL Grand Final is back in Sydney. But it might be for one night only.

Golden points: The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) confirmed Sydney's Accor Stadium will host the 2022 NRL Grand Final.

• So the Grand final was played in Brisbane last year because of COVID-19 restrictions in NSW, but it was all set to return to Sydney this year and stay there until 2042.

• The catch was the New South Wales government had to spend the leftover money from the abandoned Accor Stadium redevelopment, about $300 million, on upgrading suburban grounds in Sydney.

• But things went south when New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said that money will instead be used to help flood victims. Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) Chairman Peter V'Landys says he had a handshake deal with Perrottet, and it's fair to say V'Landys wasn't happy.

• So for the past 2-and-a-bit weeks, the ARLC has been negotiating with the governments of New South Wales and Queensland, and as of Wednesday night, V'Landys said the GF was likely going back to Brisbane.

• But yesterday, V'Landys said it was in the best interest of the fans to have the GF return to Sydney, so that's where it's heading.

• Only for one year. V'Landys says further negotiations are required to keep the GF in Sydney and he said the GF might be like American Football's Super Bowl, which is hosted by a new city every year.

They said it: "It is not for the long-term. We were hoping we would have an exclusive arrangement with the New South Wales government. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. It opens the door for a Super Bowl-type concept or, who can give us the best deal for the game."

What's next: There's still a bit of footy to be played, but the Grand Final will officially be at Accor Stadium on Sunday, 2 October.

QUICK SINGLES

🏉 NRL: Paul Green's brain will be donated to the brain bank. Following Green's death last week, his family say they will donate his brain to the Australian Sports Brain Bank, which researches the impact of concussions on past athletes. Green's wife, Amanda, says she hopes the donation will "help us understand more about brain health and mental health and save lives in the future."

⚽️ Football: The time for experimentation is over as the Matildas name a strong squad to play Canada. With the FIFA Women's World Cup less than a year away, coach Tony Gustavsson says his team is into the final phase of its preparation for the big event, and that means picking full-strength squads (or as close to) from now on. So next month in Brisbane and Sydney we'll see stars like Sam Kerr, Clare Polkinghorne, Alanna Kennedy, Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord among others back on the field.

🏉 NFL: Deshaun Watson's suspension for sexual harassment has been upped to 11 games. Watson has settled all but one of the 24 lawsuits filed by female massage therapists who claim they were sexually harassed by the then Houston Texans quarterback between March 2020 and March 2021. While he wasn't criminally charged, an independent disciplinary officer recommended he be suspended for 6 games for breaching the NFL's player conduct policy. The NFL wanted him banned for a whole year, so the league and players' union have met in the middle and Watson, who is now playing for the Browns, has been banned for 11 games and fined $7 million.

🏊‍♂️ Swimming: The Duel in the Pool returns with a twist. For the 1st time since 2015, Australia and the USA will square off in the pool over 3 days in Sydney. It starts this morning with an open water swim at Bondi Beach before moving indoors to the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, where stars like Emma McKeon, Ellie Cole and Kaylee McKeown will compete in unusual events like broken freestyle races, mystery medley relays and a relay of para and able-bodied swimmers.

🏉 Rugby: Bernard Foley is back for the Wallabies. Australia coach Dave Rennie has made some changes to his Wallabies squad for the 2 Tests against South Africa, most notably recalling 35yo Foley and dropping James O'Connor after the loss to Argentina. Foley hasn't played for Australia since the 2019 World Cup, but with James Hooper and Quade Cooper unavailable, he adds some experience to the squad for the Springboks Tests.

SPORT TODAY RECOMMENDS

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LEFT OF FIELD

🏉 NRL: Fronting up to one of the biggest press conferences of the year, ARLC chairman Peter V'Landys thought he'd open with a joke. Fair to say nobody expected it and V'Landys himself seemed quite rattled by the response. We can't do it justice, so watch it for yourself.

📽 Highlight reel: So much talk about the NRL GF, last night Penrith and South played out a fantastic Grand Final rematch in Sydney. Penrith's 4-point win means they've won the minor premiership with 2 rounds remaining.

THE POLLING BOOTH

Thursday's result: 78% gave the Sport Today newsletter a rating of 4+. You're all the best.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

• 🏉 7:50pm Friday - AFL - Lions v Demons - Gabba, Brisbane - 7mate, Foxtel, Kayo

• ⛳️ 5:00am Saturday - Golf - BMW Championship, Round 2 - Foxtel, Kayo

• 🏉 1:00pm Saturday - NRLW - Eels v Roosters - Commbank Stadium, Parrramatta - Foxtel, Kayo

• 🏉 5:00pm Saturday - Women's Rugby - Australia v New Zealand - Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch - Stan Sport

• 🏉 3:20pm Sunday - AFL - Blues v Magpies - MCG, Melbourne - Foxtel, Kayo

• 🏊‍♂️ 7:00pm Sunday - Swimming - Duel in the Pool - Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, Sydney - 7plus

THE MANAGER'S OFFICE

It's halftime. You're down by a goal. The team needs a lift. What would you say to fire up them up? Maybe something like: "Hey, have you heard about the Sport Today newsletter? It's heaps good. Here's a link to subscribe. Let's do this!" Love it. Please do that.