EXCITEMENT is building at a Redlands junior rugby league club with the prospect of the NRL grand final being played at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane this season.
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It would cap off a big few months for the sport in Queensland, with venues across the south-east and regional areas playing host to several NRL games amid Sydney's Covid crisis.
Suncorp Stadium has been touted as a possible option for the grand final this season, and does not have much competition because of lockdowns and tough restrictions in other states.
Capalaba Warriors Junior Rugby League Club president Tanya Bonney said she would like to see the game played in Brisbane.
She said it would be a huge boost for junior rugby league players to watch their idols play in the game's showpiece event and agreed it could breed a new generation of footballers.
"We are definitely struggling in our juniors," Bonney said. "Every kid that plays rugby league wants to be in a grand final.
"Fingers crossed this could be the injection we need for kids to go 'hey, let's get back into it (rugby league)'.
"With the prospect of having another Queensland team and other teams coming to the state, it opens up a whole other avenue for kids in the sport they love."
The club has close to 300 junior players signed on this season, but that is less than previous years.
Teams have started training again this week after Covid forced community sport into hibernation last month, however several players have taken the opportunity to watch NRL games at grounds during the break.
"Rugby league is a big part of junior sport," Bonney said. "We haven't had it for a couple of weeks with the lockdown.
"They (players) have still been going to the games at Suncorp. Some of them even go down the coast to watch them.
"With the NRL relocating to Queensland, it has given not only kids - but people who follow the sport - an escape.
"Without Queensland doing it, a lot of people would have lost a part of themselves."
The NRL has signed a deal with the NSW government to hold every grand final in Sydney until 2046.
But with Covid cases mounting, it is likely the game will have to be played elsewhere and Brisbane is shaping as potential hosts.
Bonney said the club's under 13 players would normally travel to Sydney for the grand final but would instead make a trip north this season.
"It gives more young kids the opportunity to go with it (the trip) being up here," she said.
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