The NRL grand final is still hanging by a thread despite a positive update from the Queensland government on the state's COVID situation on Friday morning.
Queensland announced only three new cases of COVID-19, with one of those in hotel quarantine, another linked to a known cluster, and the third case acquired from interstate, but only infectious in the community for one day.
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told the media on Friday morning that the state were avoiding lockdown for now, however, the situation still hung in the balance.
"The fundamental reason we are not in lockdown is that we don't have any seeding or community transmission. If we do see any unlinked community transmission, I'm quite sure Dr. Young will not hesitate to recommend a lockdown," the premier said.
The NRL grand final, which is due to be played at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on Sunday evening between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Penrith Panthers, has already been limited to 75 per cent capacity as Queensland brought in a new wave of restrictions yesterday.
The positive update will be a positive boost to the NRL, who have touted postponing the grand final if it can't be played in front of a crowd, while a move to Townsville also now seems unlikely due to time constraints alongside their own restrictions.
Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'Landys last night told AAP that "every option is on the table" while NRL CEO Andrew Abdo told Channel 9s The Today Show on Friday morning that every effort would be made to play the game in front of a crowd.
"We want to play to play at Suncorp, and we want to play in front of a crowd," Abdo said.
"If there's a lockdown that happens from tomorrow, then I think postponement becomes a realistic option, we can move (to Townsville) quickly, we know that, but we can't put on a grand final within 24 hours.
"It's not fair to the fans in Townsville, and it's not fair to the teams in terms of their preparation.
"We'd need to make sure the move is done professionally."
Townsville as the secondary plan for the NRL has been thrown into doubt however, with it currently on the same level of restrictions as the Brisbane area.
With no lockdown announced on Friday though, and judging by Adbo's comments about Saturday being simply too late to move the game, it now appears the grand final will either be in Brisbane with a crowd at a minimum 50 per cent capacity, or it will be postponed to a later date.
