The NRL have announced a special Magic Round next season, to be held atย Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.
It is scheduled for round 10 in of next season and will feature all 16 clubs playing from Friday to Sunday. NRL CEOย Todd Greenberg was pleased to make the announcement.
"Next year you will be see a number of innovations and this stands at the top of it," Greenberg toldย nrl.com.
"The 16 clubs have been very supportive of doing something innovative.ย This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase our game and create a festival-like occasion for a premiership round.
"Our goal to obviously sell out three days in a row, and I can assure you ticket prices will be affordable.ย There is an opportunity to sell tickets across all three days or individually. The target is for families."
Greenberg added that the Magic Round was inspired by the success of double-headers in recent times.
"We have seen the success of our double-headers in recent years, but this takes the concept to another level," Greenberg said.
"Obviously, there will be significant exposure for such a unique round and it will be a wonderful promotion for all our clubs.
"We're extremely grateful for the support of the clubs, the Queensland Government, Brisbane City Council, Suncorp Stadium and our broadcast partners Nine and Fox Sports who have provided unwavering support to ensure this initiative became a reality.
"We'd expect the people of Brisbane to support the festival nature of what will be a wonderful spectacle for rugby league and their city."
Titans halfback Ash Taylor said it would provide a great spectacle for the wider rugby league community.
"There are a lot of people who follow rugby league in surrounding areas who don't get to see NRL players very often," Taylor toldย nrl.com.
"Toowoomba is where I grew up and my league journey began and we [the Titans] went up there this year and it was awesome to be able to give back to an individual's community.
"It meant so much for me that we were there for four days doing community stuff and to be able to give back to someone's community.
"It's great to support the grassroots where so many of our players grew up, and the Magic Weekend creates an opportunity to do that in Brisbane and maybe other areas as well.
"Gold Coast would be a great place to base a team and go into camp too, it's a more relaxed atmosphere.ย It's a really exciting concept which I can see grow from next year."
Broncos skipper Darius Boyd was also excited about the prospect of the Magic Round.
"We've had the Reds, Broncos and Roar played here before and double headers staged, so I don't think the surface will be an issue" Boys toldย nrl.com.
"I'm excited and really looking forward to it.ย It's a bit like having the Nines at the start off the year where you have all the teams in the one place and it's a really great occasion.
"To play a proper premiership round here, everyone playing for points and all the teams here at the one time is really exciting."
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