Dolphins v Roosters: NRL game set to be largest crowd since HBF Park became a rectangular venue

Perth’s HBF Park is set to host its largest crowd since the stadium became a rectangular venue, with the NFL’s Friday night game between the Dolphins and Roosters a sell-out. Premier Roger Cook said the crowd numbers — which surpass even the Matildas’ game last year — illustrate the State’s growing enthusiasm for the code and establishment of a club in WA. “It will be a blockbuster event and it’s another opportunity to prove that Western Australia has a huge following when it comes to NRL,” the State Labor leader said. “It’s another opportunity for us to demonstrate that we are NRL-ready. We continue to push our case.” Donning a Dolphins scarf and joking he was a “diehard Dolphins fan as of today”, Mr Cook also welcomed coach and legendary rugby league identity Wayne Bennett to WA. The Dolphins’ open training session on Thursday morning drew about 1000 fans indicating a growing fanbase for the sport in the west. Mr Bennett said a WA-aligned club seemed a no-brainer and welcomed the league’s push for an expanded 20-team competition in the next decade. “It’s certainly quite obvious to me that Western Australia should be included in the National Rugby League. It’s a great State. You’ve already got the ready marketplace,” Mr Bennett said. This is the Dolphins’ second visit to Perth in as many years, with the team taking part in the 2023 double-header at Optus Stadium to a crowd of more than 45,000 fans. The 2019 State of Origin match had recorded Optus Stadium’s third-highest attendance for a sporting event. WA is emerging as the leading contender for the NRL’s 18th license, potentially joining the competition by 2027, with bid entries expected to close on August 14. A Papua New Guinea side is expected to join the competition in 2028. WA’s potential pathway to join the competition is reportedly through a revival of the North Sydney Bears through a franchise partnership. It’s expected the successful bid will be announced toward the end of this year. Australian Rugby League Commissioner and former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has also highlighted Perth’s advantageous time zone for live streaming games to the east coast and its potential to tap into the broader southern Asia market. “The time difference actually is an asset. We will look at the structure of the competition as time comes as well but the timing is absolutely perfect,” he said. “There are other bids that are coming in from Queensland as well as from New Zealand and we have to look at those.” Before their collapse, Perth previously had the Western Reds side which played in the former ARL and Super League competitions from 1995-97 when the game was in the midst of a civil war. Mr Beetle said the code had moved on from the Super League War and believed WA was ready to welcome a Perth-based NRL team again. “There was a bit of internal politics within the NRL — let’s call it out for what it was,” he said. “There were problems in the past that had nothing to do with this sport in Western Australia and had nothing to do with the team either. There was a bad decision and the fundamentals here were right then, and they’re right now.” Dolphins are currently eighth on the ladder and the Sydney Roosters in third after 21 rounds. The Roosters appearance in WA marks their first since facing the Western Reds in 1995 at the WACA.