A turf war appears to be erupting between the oldest foes in Australian rugby league – the Roosters and Rabbitohs.
It centres on the new Sydney Football Stadium at Moore Park, which is due to be officially unveiled when the two teams in question go head to head there on September 2.
But beyond that, there’s a stink brewing over which team should have the right to play home games at the eastern Sydney stadium.
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The Chooks are based at Moore Park and have been using the SCG as a temporary home ground while the SFS rebuild takes place. They will move back into the SFS once it’s ready for full-time use.
But the Rabbitohs also reportedly want to play home games there, moving east from Accor Stadium in Homebush.
News Corp reports the Roosters board is preparing to lobby the NSW government in an attempt to block the Bunnies playing home games at the SFS.
South Sydney CEO Blake Solly spoke to Wide World of Sports radio to explain where his club is coming from, and in part hit back at the Chooks.
“I think there’s a fair bit of activity going, and a lot of people jumping to conclusions,” Solly said.
“There’s still a lot of discussions and conversations between the government and the NRL and the stadiums. But it adds to the rivalry between us and the Roosters.
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“Our preference has always been to stay at Accor Stadium. The government for a decade now has talked about what sort of investment would be needed in Accor Stadium to ensure it remains a great venue for rugby league.
“What we’re asking the government to do is to make a firm decision on what it wants to do with Accor Stadium. Then we can make our decision after that as to where we want to play our home games.”
South Sydney has a deal to play at Accor Stadium through to 2030, but the Rabbitohs want the government to make good on a promise to refurbish the venue at the same time.
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