The South Sydney Rabbitohs will end their tenure playing games in Perth from 2027, but there is no guarantee that means they will play 12 games in Sydney.
The Rabbitohs have taken 12 home games to Perth as part of an agreement with the Western Australian government dating back to 2009, but that will end after next year with the Perth Bears set to join the competition.
The Rabbitohs have found limited success in Perth, winning just five of those games, although crowds and support have generally been strong, with the sport now set for expansion into the Western Australian capital.
South Sydney have been locked in a long-running battle with the New South Wales state government and Venues NSW over their desire to play out of the Sydney Football Stadium, moving away from their Homebush Olympic Stadium home that has been their ground for around two decades.
The Rabbitohs have labelled the Olympic Park precinct not financially viable in the past, and have also raised concerns about the game day experience for fans.
The stadium was due for renovation work prior to the COVID pandemic, which would have shifted it into a 70,000-seat rectangular stadium, but that never happened due to the pandemic, and the Rabbitohs have wanted a move away to the Sydney Football Stadium - where they played prior to their Homebush shift - ever since.
A move of any of their home games is yet to be locked in, but speaking to News Corp, club CEO Blake Solly said they would not move the extra game back to Sydney unless it was at Allianz, as well as their other home games.
“Ideally we would bring the game we take to Perth back to Sydney and the Venues NSW network," Solly told the publication.
“But that only stacks up if we are allowed to move our home ground to Allianz. If we can't move to Allianz, sadly it's not commercially viable to move the game back to Sydney."
He also revealed the club have had interest from Queensland and New Zealand in what would be a 12th home game continuing to be on the road.
The Rabbitohs, outside of Perth, having previously played home games in Gosford, Cairns, the Sunshine Coast, Dubbo,
