A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers' hopes of launching next season with a "sell-out first competitive game" at the new Western Sydney Stadium "have been thrown into doubt" by the National Rugby League competition that will "block out the new venue on the opening weekend of the A-League," according to Tom Smithies of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. The NRL will play its World Cup 9s tournament at the Western Sydney Stadium from Oct. 18-19 next year, the weekend which A-League officials confirmed is "almost certain to be its opening round." The Wanderers’ A-League debut at the club’s new home "is seen as a major drawcard for the start of next season," with both the club and Football Federation Australia keen to maximize its impact, though Western Sydney is "yet to finalise an agreement to actually play there." Though it is understood "some discussions have been held" around starting the A-League season the Thursday of that week, Oct. 17, allowing Western Sydney to play at home the night before the World Cup 9s, "that concept is likely to meet fierce opposition from the club" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 12/4).
THE NEXT STEP: INSIDE THE GAMES' Daniel Etchells reported the new NRL event will feature 12 teams in the men’s competition and four teams in the women’s tournament that will compete across 28 matches and 12 hours of action. NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said, "The nines concept has been a great success and this is the obvious next step -- nines at international level" (INSIDE THE GAMES, 12/5).
