The NRL is facing a logistical nightmare just three days out from the grand final with capacity for Sunday’s sold-out crowd at Suncorp Stadium slashed to 75 per cent.

In a last-in, first-out policy, refunds will be issued to a quarter of the 52,500 fans who bought tickets for the Brisbane decider after the Queensland government announced new COVID-19 restrictions.

It comes as the threat of lockdown bears down on south-east Queensland, with six new coronavirus cases recorded in the state on Thursday.

Townsville remains on standby to hold the premiership decider between South Sydney and Penrith should case numbers increase in the coming days and force a last-minute shift.

For now, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has resisted calls for a lockdown that would trigger the forced relocation of the grand final, instead introducing stricter measures for the community.

New restrictions have reduced the capacity of Suncorp Stadium to 39,000 instead of 52,500, with all tickets sold for Sunday’s game.

In response, the NRL has announced the final 25 per cent of all ticket allocations sold will be refunded.

That includes general sale and members’ tickets for Souths and Panthers fans after 7000 were held back for sale on Monday after both teams qualified for the decider.

“We had two allocations of grand-final tickets. The first was to the general public and the second was aimed at fans of both grand final teams,” said NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo.

“The fairest way to determine who can attend the game is by prioritising the first 75 per cent to purchase tickets in each allocation. Any fan who no longer wants to attend will also be able to access a refund.

“I want to acknowledge fans who will now miss out on attending the grand final. I know you had been counting down the days to a once in a lifetime experience and this will be difficult news to take, but this decision is out of our hands.”

With three days until the game,the NRL is closely monitoring growing COVID-19 case numbers in the sunshine state, but will not relocate the game to Townsville unless a lockdown is announced.

Premier Palaszczuk denied on Thursday she was resisting a lockdown to facilitate Brisbane’s first NRL grand final, saying she would lock down the state if the health advice called for it.

“Let me make it very clear that the health of Queenslanders comes first and as soon as (Queensland chief health officer) Dr (Jeannette) Young says we needed to move into a lockdown we will,” she said.

She also acknowledged that should cases continue to rise there is a possibility Sunday’s game could go ahead without fans no matter where the match is played.

“Look, that is a consideration that may have to be made at that time,” she said.

“At the moment that is not the situation. 

“I’d just say to people if you are sick and you have any symptoms you need to go and get a test. This is very critical. 

“We want to see high testing rates and we will be watching very carefully what happens over the next 24-48 hours.”

AAP

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