Melbourne are expected to play their NRL finals out of Suncorp Stadium – and while it’s not a home ground advantage, it’s the next best thing.
The Storm’s incredible record in Queensland extended to 16 consecutive wins with their 30-6 victory over Manly on Sunday afternoon.
They have won 23 of 25 games in the Sunshine State since June 2014, making any Queensland venue the next best home ground for the Storm aside from AAMI Park.
The NRL is understood to have considered moving the Storm camp into NSW for finals, but that now appears unlikely save for an extreme change in biosecurity conditions.
Melbourne will be the only Queensland-based side in the finals and keeping matches in the state will give a lift to the local economy.
It will come as music to the ears of the Storm who are second on the NRL ladder with four weeks until the finals.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy said his side would love to play finals at Sunshine Coast Stadium, which has been their surrogate home ground since July.
“We want that but I’m not quite sure what’s going to happen there,” he said.
“That might be still in discussions and the NRL would have the main say in that.
“We’d love to play a final here or two finals here or however far we go.
“But at the same time we could end up playing in Brisbane which we really enjoy playing there.
“I think all teams enjoy playing at Brisbane because it’s a great stadium.
“Hopefully however far we go and how many finals we play hopefully they will be on the Sunny Coast.
“If they’re not, hopefully they’ll be at Suncorp.”
The NRL intends to have the Storm play at Suncorp Stadium and will confirm plans for finals venues in the coming weeks.