St George Illawarra fans, who have been left thousands of dollars out of pocket, have vented their frustrations after Melbourne Storm decided to move their round 20 clash against the Dragons from Melbourne to New Zealand.
The NRL trumpeted the announcement of the draw in December with the opening 20 rounds seemingly locked in. But the Storm's decision for a cash grab has alienated some St George Illawarra fans who have already paid for accommodation and flights to travel south for the clash, which has been moved from AAMI Park to Napier, New Zealand.
NRL head of football Todd Greenberg boasted fans had certainty planning ahead when the draw for this season was announced last year.
"Fans should be looking at their own club calendars right now [and] planning their season," Greenberg said in December. "They've got great certainty to know where their clubs are playing between now and round 20."
Irene Broussos and her husband George made plans to travel to Melbourne to celebrate each other's 50th birthday with their two children just weeks after the draw had been confirmed.
"Because we could not afford the more expensive refundable fares, our fares are not refundable so we will lose the money if we don't fly down that weekend," Broussos said. "We really don't see any appeal in flying down there now just for one night when we are going to spend our time watching the Dragons game in New Zealand on television. We can do that in Sydney.
"It is totally unfair that we were not warned when the NRL draw came out that the venue may be subject to change.
"I doubt that I can get compensated in any way but the NRL and the Melbourne Storm need to be accountable for this. They claim to be a family friendly sport but that is a low blow for diehard families like us who spend the little cash we have to support the team we love so much."
The Dragons have also been forced to cancel a planned Red V interstate members function. The Storm are issuing a 1/12th refund for members while also offering the option of that money being donated to achieve the club's "long-term mission".
The Storm said they had been in contact with the Dragons. "We are considering how, if at all, we may be able to assist the few interstate fans that have been impacted," a Storm spokesman said.
An NRL spokesman said the governing body was looking into assisting those fans put out by the venue swap.
"The Storm made the decision to change the venue for the match, which they are entitled to do," an NRL spokesman said. "It was a commercial decision by the Storm and, due to circumstances beyond the club's control, the deal with Napier was unable to be finalised until very recently.
"It is unfortunate that some of our supporters have already made travel arrangements and we will certainly explore whether we can assist those fans where possible."
Dragons member Barry Fook and wife Sonja regularly travel interstate for matches but will now reconsider their support.
"What's the point of making the draw fixed?" Fook asked. "Next season, if we see a game is in Melbourne, we would have second thoughts on committing again, definitely.
"We will probably still go to Melbourne because the accommodation is paid for and, if we don't use it, we will lose it. It'll be a nice little break but we don't get to do what we [originally planned] to do."
Fan Sue Mapp had planned to surprise her son Jack for his 16th birthday by taking him, her husband Colin and her daughter Megan to the Dragons game, which follows the Manchester City and Real Madrid game the day before. Jack is an avid Dragons and Manchester City fan.
"It was like winning the Lotto when both games were announced," Mapp said.
