His Holiness is due to visit Sydney for the 54th Eucharistic Congress on the October long weekend of 2028, which will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Sydney congress in 1928.
Whilst his visit is not yet set in stone, and the logistics of the first papal visit to Australia since Pope Benedict in 2008 are still to be worked out, the CEO of Eucharist28, Bishop Richard Umbers, told reporters in February 2026 that Leo had indicated a strong desire to attend the event.
It is anticipated that the Pope would conclude the festival with a Papal Mass at Sydney's Randwick Racecourse on the Sunday of the October long weekend, the same day that the NRL Grand Final traditionally falls on.
An estimated 400,000 people attended a World Youth Day event at Randwick in 2008, leading many to believe a visit from the Pope would draw a crowd well in excess of that.
The strain on policing, security and Sydney's transport system created by a Papal mass would make an NRL Grand Final on the same day untenable, and despite never being afraid of fighting others for attention, V'Landys says he has no desire to take on the head of the Catholic Church with the NRL's showpiece event.
"Pope wins," he bluntly told Fox League's Fletch & Hindy show on Thursday night.
When asked which move he's most likely to make to avoid such a scheduling clash, V'Landys offered two solutions: moving the Grand Final back a week to Sunday 8 October, or sell the match to another city.
V'Landys said the Queensland and Western Australia state governments have already offered "big money" to him to host the 2028 match, whilst Victoria and the city of Auckland publicly flagged their intentions to be considered - and they all have strong cases to make.
Western Australia appear to be the frontrunners with Premier Roger Cook reportedly willing to part ways with $20m to purchase the hosting rights - double the amount offered by New South Wales - with the aim of continuing to build momentum set by the introduction of the Perth Bears in 2027, the three State of Origin events at Optus Stadium and the opening game of the 2027 Rugby World Cup between the Wallabies and Hong Kong.
“Western Australia has got a track record of staging major sporting events," Cook told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"It’s a great opportunity to showcase the game in places outside their traditional venues.
"I reckon we’re a chance, and we would certainly bid hard in relation to the opportunity to showcase a rugby league grand final in WA.
“It’d provide an extra element for the competition as well, and I think people would be really excited about it.
"The Perth Bears are going to be successful. I think it’d be a really strong foothold for NRL, and they could consolidate that by bringing the grand final here in 2028.”
The city of Melbourne also expressed their interest just weeks after Game 2 of the 2026 State of Origin series set a new crowd record with more than 91,000 spectators seeing Queensland level the series they would eventually go on to lose on home soil.
“When the world’s biggest sporting events look for a home, they choose Melbourne,” Victorian Minister for Major Events Anthony Carbines declared.
“That’s because everyone knows that Melbourne is the events capital of Australia."
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown described the city's appetite for rugby league as "insatiable" and said an NRL Grand Final would be a logical next step for the city and the country of New Zealand following their debut State of Origin match in 2027.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said "it would make complete sense" for the NRL to move the match to Brisbane for the first time since 2021, after Suncorp Stadium took on hosting duties due to a Covid-19 lockdown in New South Wales.
V'Landys admitted he has a strong "sense of loyalty" to Sydney when it comes to keeping the Grand Final at its traditional venue, but for the man who frequently describes the non-profit Australian Rugby League Commission as a "business", a potential bidding war would be difficult to ignore.
Nor the temptation of adding to an already burgeoning legacy that now includes a record-breaking TV broadcast deal and, one day, a 'Global Round' that could take the league to four continents in one weekend.
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
