Perth Sports Minister Mick Murray and NRL WA General Manager John Sackson are expecting a huge crowd at the new Perth Stadium after the Rabbitohs were announced today (Tuesday) to headline a blockbuster double header on March 10.
The Rabbitohs, along with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, will christen Perth's state-of-the-art stadium as the first rectangular sport to compete at the venue after they were selected by the NRL while notching up the Rabbitohs 10th year of supporting Rugby League on the west coast.
“We expect this double-header to be extremely popular,” said Sports Minister Mick Murray.
“The NRL premiership fixture between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the New Zealand Warriors played at nib Stadium in June 2015 was a sell-out match.
“The crowd of 20,272 still holds the record for sporting event attendance at the venue since its redevelopment.”
Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly has underlined the importance of these types of games for the Club and is looking forward to the release of the 2018 NRL Draw, which he believes will deliver value to Rabbitohs Members after the hard work done by senior management to develop a favourable scheduling proposal for Sydney based Members.
"This will be a game that traditionally hasn't drawn very well in Sydney, unfortunately we can't say who the opponent is until the draw is released, but what we can say is that it won't impact on our Sydney Members too much," said Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly.
"As we saw from the stories last week we're really keen to add more value to the Sydney Memberships. Looking at double headers in Sydney and more games where, as an away Member, you get access for free.
"This helps the Club. We know that the financial rewards in playing some of these games out of Sydney are really important to help us put the best possible team on the paddock. We want to win the next competition for the Club, we want to win the 22nd Premiership - to do that we need to make sure the Club is resourced to do that."
NRL WA General Manager John Sackson has praised the decision and is confident residents of West Australia will experience the 'world's best Rugby League' at the double header.
“It will provide a wonderful opportunity for West Australians to experience the world’s best Rugby League live and up close at the best new sports and entertainment venue in the nation,” Sackson said.
Rabbitohs Members based in Western Australia will be able to purchase a 2018 Rabbitohs WA Membership in late September which will ensure they get some of the best seats in the house with a Gold category ticket forming part of the Membership. To register your interest for a 2018 Membership, please click here.
