Newcastle Knights CEO Philip Gardner says the NRL should consider awarding Magic Round hosting rights to the club in the future after it was overlooked for the event in 2023.
The introduction of the Dolphins will expand the competition to 17 teams, meaning one was always going to miss out on the round 10 event at Suncorp Stadium in May. The Knights have been overlooked, but expect to be included in coming years.
Gardner even suggested that, if there was an opportunity for other cities to bid for Magic Round in the future, the Hunter region warranted consideration.
“We would love to. A Magic Round or a State of Origin would be great,” Gardner told the Herald.
“The economics of that make it very difficult because it’s a bidding process. You would need the support of the NSW Government to do that, but certainly in Newcastle, at McDonald Jones Stadium, it would be a sellout all of the time.
“I don’t know if that’s economically feasible … but we would love to have it.”
The Knights will miss out on Magic Round.Credit:Getty
Gardner understood the reasons for Newcastle missing out, but still described the outcome as disappointing for Knights fans.
“It should be shared around in years to come,” Gardner said.
“Someone had to miss out, we get that. The fans are disappointed not to be included.
“We understand they would want the Queensland clubs involved because they need to sell tickets, but it’s still disappointing to have missed out. I don’t think you will ever see a Magic Round in Brisbane without Brisbane and the Dolphins.
“We won’t take a home game away from McDonald Jones Stadium, so that puts us at the back of the pack. It’s too important to our home fans, those games. Other clubs may be in a different situation.
“It’s disappointing for the fans because the fans love a good trip and getting up to Brisbane is a good trip. We’re disappointed, but we know the factors involved in it.”
One of the big events on next year’s calendar will be new Manly coach Anthony Seibold facing former club Brisbane for the first time in Magic Round. The former Dally M coach said his immediate focus was on the opening-round home clash against the Bulldogs.
“Our whole pre-season is geared towards that, giving a good account of ourselves at the start of the season,” Seibold said.
“We will be building towards that opening game, like the Bulldogs will be.
“It’s great, I know [new Canterbury coach] Cameron Ciraldo reasonably well, he’s a really good man. He will be at the helm of the Bulldogs for the first time and it will be a good clash, I’m looking forward to it.”
The Dolphins will start their inaugural season with a clash against the Roosters at Suncorp Stadium. It will be the first of 10 free-to-air games on Channel Nine, publisher of this masthead. Their inclusion has resulted in the Broncos having 13 free-to-air games, a slight drop from previous seasons.
The 2023 season will also be the first in decades to feature a pre-season tournament, which will include Super League premiers St Helens. As revealed by the Herald, the teams will all play two games each, for points and prizemoney, in a bid to commercialise the summer trials.
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