The Melbourne Storm have confirmed that they will ship a pair of games to Marvel Stadium in 2023.
It comes as the club lose access to their usual home ground at AAMI Park for a period of approximately six weeks thanks to the FIFA Women's World Cup, which will be hosted in Australia next year.
The tournament will also take control of Suncorp Stadium, Allianz Stadium and the Sydney Olympic Park precinct's Accor Stadium throughout the period, impacting the Brisbane Broncos, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Sydney Roosters and Canterbury Bulldogs alongside the Storm.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs and Brisbane Broncos have already both announced plans for the period, with the Broncos to host three games at the Gabba, and the Rabbitohs confirming one game will be played in Perth, and another on the Sunshine Coast.
The club are yet to confirm where their remaining two games will be played, with only eight guaranteed to be at the Olympic Stadium.
The Bulldogs and Roosters are yet to announce plans, although it's understood the tri-colours are weighing up returning to the Sydney Cricket Ground, or utilising the Central Coast Stadium at Gosford, where they have a current agreement to take games each season.
Melbourne Storm CEO Justin Rodski confirmed the move of two Melbourne games to Marvel Stadium - an oval ground owned by the AFL - during the club's awards night on Tuesday evening.
JUST IN: @storm CEO @justinrodski confirms the club will play two #NRL home games at @marvelstadiumau in 2023.#purplepride pic.twitter.com/V68IjlcaK6
— LeagueUnlimited.com (@LeagueUnlimited) September 27, 2022
It means the Storm will be very much at the will of the AFL scheduling-wise, with the sport regularly hosting multiple games at the venue each week.
Rugby union's the Rebels will also likely be forced to switch venues during the period, creating a potential log jam of playing dates for the Docklands facility.
The Storm have played a number of games at the stadium dating back to 2001, winning 13 of 20 games with another match drawn there. They haven't hosted a game at the ground since 2010.
State of Origin has also been hosted at Docklands, which has the ability to have a closed roof, on three occasions, with the Queensland Maroons winning all three encounters in 2006, 2009 and 2012.
