Brisbane has recorded a new COVID case on Sunday morning, and while the city won't be plunged into lockdown yet, doubts have been cast over the NRL grand final being held at Suncorp Stadium.
The mother of an infected four-year-old was announced to be positive at this morning's Queensland government update.
Restrictions introducing visiting limits to aged care and health services have been introduced, however, Queensland won't follow New South Wales and Victoria in introducing a lockdown yet.
According to The Courier Mail there are currently 16 active cases across Queensland.
Six new exposure sites were also added to the list for Queensland between the second and third of September, sparking fears that there may be more community transmission in the days to come.
The NRL, which was relocated to Queensland as Sydney's outbreak, and in turn the outbreak in Melbourne and Canberra, worsened has been able to play relatively unscathed so far.
With only one postponement of matches after Queensland was plunged into a snap lockdown, followed by a week of playing without crowds, the NRL will be thanking their lucky stars they have been able to see out the regular season.
However, it's understood the NRL are desperate to have fans in attendance at finals matches, and a general theme of the pandemic has been crowds being reduced or banned entirely at the onset of cases.
That isn't the case in the south east corner of the state yet, however, the NRL will be monitoring the situation closely in days to come.
Week 1 of the finals has already been announced with no matches in Brisbane or on the Gold Coast, although it's believed that is because of The Rugby Championship, and the need to give both grounds a rest.
Lang Park has held 40 games since the competition relocated.
Week 2 will be unable to be in Brisbane, with The Rugby Championship hosting a double-header on the Saturday evening at Suncorp Stadium.
It's understood the NRL's preference is for the preliminary finals and grand final to be held at Suncorp Stadium, however, they will play wherever it's possible to have the biggest crowd.
Don't rule out NRL grand final in Townsville. Not first choice because of capacity, however ..Not hearing good news this morning out of sth east QLD.
If Brisbane crowds were ruled out, would option of a 'vaccinated fans only' crowd in Sydney mean kids couldn't go. What a dilemma.— Andrew Voss (@AndrewVossy) September 4, 2021
Townsville, which has hosted North Queensland Cowboys' home games since the competition relocated, and is set to host a double header next weekend on Saturday, has reportedly been floated as the most likely alternative if restrictions on crowds are put in place.
A move interstate hasn't been ruled out either, with Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'Landys confirming at the onset of the snap lockdown a month ago that the NRL had open dialogues with state government in both New South Wales and Victoria.
New South Wales premier Gladdys Berijiklian has floated the easing of restrictions for vaccinated individuals in the weeks and months to come, although it's unclear if any would be reduced at all by grand final day should Brisbane be unable to host the decider.
