Magic Round

The National Rugby League's Magic Round is a weekend where all fixtures are played at one venue. The concept is derived from Super League's Magic Weekend.^[1] The first Magic Round, in 2019, was held at Brisbane's Lang Park, in the ninth round of the season, from 9 to 12 May. The Government of Queensland paid approximately $2.1 million per year for the event to be held in the city in 2019 and 2020.^[2]

History[]

England's Super League first held its Magic Weekend in Cardiff, Wales, in 2007, in part as a bid to promote rugby league there.^[3] The event has been repeated on an annual basis, staged also in Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne and Liverpool. The second-tier Championship followed in 2015 with the Summer Bash, a full round of fixtures that in that year and each subsequent year have been played in Blackpool.

The NRL first announced a Magic Round in 2018, for the 2019 season. It selected Brisbane as the host for 2019 and 2021, with the NRL having the option to continue to hold the event there in 2022 and 2023. The hosting arrangements included an investment from the Government of Queensland.^[4] The NRL declared the 2019 event, held from 9 to 12 May, to be a success; the total attendance for the weekend was 134,677.^[5]

The second Magic Round was scheduled to be held in May 2020, but was cancelled due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which affected the 2020 NRL season.^[6]

After the success of the second Magic Round in 2021, it was announced that the event would be returning to Brisbane in 2022.^[7]

2019: Brisbane[]

Team	Score	Team	Date and Time	Attendance	Broadcaster
Gold Coast Titans	18–26	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Thursday 9 May 19:50	17,113	Nine Network Fox League
Wests Tigers	30–4	Penrith Panthers	Friday 10 May 18:00	41,388	Fox League
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	10–26	Brisbane Broncos	Friday 10 May 20:05	41,388	Nine Network Fox League
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	10–22	Newcastle Knights	Saturday 11 May 15:00	41,612	Fox League
New Zealand Warriors	26–18	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Saturday 11 May 17:30		Fox League
Melbourne Storm	64–10	Parramatta Eels	Saturday 11 May 19:35		Fox League
Sydney Roosters	30–24	Canberra Raiders	Sunday 12 May 14:00	34,564	Fox League
South Sydney Rabbitohs	32–16	North Queensland Cowboys	Sunday 12 May 16:05	34,564	Nine Network Fox League

2021: Brisbane[]

Team	Score	Team	Date and Time	Attendance	Broadcaster
Wests Tigers	36–18	Newcastle Knights	Friday 14 May 18:00	41,367	Fox League
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	50–6	Brisbane Broncos	Friday 14 May 20:05	41,367	Nine Network Fox League
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	18–20	Canberra Raiders	Saturday 15 May 15:00	45,115	Fox League
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	22–32	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Saturday 15 May 17:30		Fox League
Sydney Roosters	30–16	North Queensland Cowboys	Saturday 15 May 19:45		Nine Network Fox League
New Zealand Warriors	18–34	Parramatta Eels	Sunday 16 May 13:50	43,537	Fox League
Melbourne Storm	44–18	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Sunday 16 May 16:05		Nine Network Fox League
Gold Coast Titans	12–48	Penrith Panthers	Sunday 16 May 18:25		Fox League

2022: Brisbane[]

Team	Score	Team	Date and Time	Broadcaster
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	–	Newcastle Knights	Friday 13 May 18:00	Fox League
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	–	Brisbane Broncos	Friday 13 May 20:05	Nine Network Fox League
New Zealand Warriors	–	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Saturday 14 May 15:00	Fox League
Gold Coast Titans	–	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Saturday 14 May 17:30	Fox League
Melbourne Storm	–	Penrith Panthers	Saturday 14 May 19:45	Nine Network Fox League
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	–	Canberra Raiders	Sunday 15 May 13:50	Fox League
Sydney Roosters	–	Parramatta Eels	Sunday 15 May 16:05	Nine Network Fox League
Wests Tigers	–	North Queensland Cowboys	Sunday 15 May 18:25	Fox League

Yearly Attendances[]


Year	City	Stadium	Days	Total Attendance	Average Daily Attendance
2019	Brisbane	Suncorp Stadium	4	134,677	33,669
2020	Brisbane	Suncorp Stadium	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021	Brisbane	Suncorp Stadium	3	130,019	43,340
2022	Brisbane	Suncorp Stadium	3
2023	TBC	TBC	3

References[]

^ Proszenko, Adrian (9 May 2019). "NSW keen to poach Magic Round from Queensland". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
^ Polkinghorne, David (10 May 2019). "New Civic Stadium would enhance Canberra's Magic Round chances". Canberra Times. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
^ Shea, Julian (1 May 2007). "Rugby league looks to new horizon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
^ Webster, Andrew (8 May 2019). "From Bris Vegas to Las Vegas: the NRL's bold ambitions for Magic Round". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
^ Lutton, Phil (12 May 2019). "Magic Round tricks every box as crowds respond to Brisbane event". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
^ "NRL cancels Magic Round Brisbane 2020". NRL.com. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
^ Layt, Stuart (16 May 2007). "NRL Magic Round to stay in Brisbane in 2022 but after that it's anyone's game". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 17 May 2021.

External links[]

[1] Proszenko, Adrian (9 May 2019). "NSW keen to poach Magic Round from Queensland". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 August 2019.

[2] Polkinghorne, David (10 May 2019). "New Civic Stadium would enhance Canberra's Magic Round chances". Canberra Times. Retrieved 3 August 2019.

[3] Shea, Julian (1 May 2007). "Rugby league looks to new horizon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2019.

[4] Webster, Andrew (8 May 2019). "From Bris Vegas to Las Vegas: the NRL's bold ambitions for Magic Round". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 August 2019.

[5] Lutton, Phil (12 May 2019). "Magic Round tricks every box as crowds respond to Brisbane event". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 August 2019.

[6] "NRL cancels Magic Round Brisbane 2020". NRL.com. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.

[7] Layt, Stuart (16 May 2007). "NRL Magic Round to stay in Brisbane in 2022 but after that it's anyone's game". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 17 May 2021.

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