The NRL have run into a problem over the 2028 NRL Grand Final, with the relevation Pope Leo XIV will be in Sydney on the same weekend.
It has been revealed that the Pope plans to be in Sydney on the October long weekend in 2028 by the Sydney Morning Herald, where he will hold a papal Mass.
That will take place on the Sunday - the day before the long weekend public holiday which the NRL typically stage the grand final on.
While that event will likely - pending government sign off - take place at Royal Randwick, it's believed there are concerns over policing of both events and Sydney's transport system being able to cope with them being on the same day.
400,000 people could be expected to attend the event at Randwick.
It's understood the NRL and NSW State Government are in talks over the events, given the Mass has not yet been locked in.
The NRL have plenty of options on the table if it does go ahead though, with a decision expected in the coming months.
Of note, the NRL have not locked in their grand final venue beyond the end of 2027.
Sydney almost lost the grand final a couple of years ago, and while a long-term contract wasn't reinstated after the blow up in negotiations over stadium funding, a short-term deal left the door open for the NRL to begin selling the grand final off to the highest bidder.
Both Queensland and Victoria have been interested previously, while Western Australia, South Australia have held State of Origin matches in recent years, with New Zealand to also host one next year.
The other option is to bring the start of the NRL season forward by a week, but then the NRL would lose the advantage of a public holiday following the Sunday evening kick-off time that is believed to be locked in moving forward with Channel Nine and the new TV deal.
At this stage, it's unclear how many rounds the 2027 and 2028 season are going to run for given the format of the competition will increase by a team in each of those years, which could naturally change the start and end dates.
Given the NSW government and NSW Racing are also still locked in talks over the use of the venue, a decision could still be some way off, but the NRL will spend the coming months working through contingency plans in case things do need to shuffle.
The 2027 grand final will be played on the first Sunday in October at Homebush.
