With no team of their own in NRL grand final, NSW is… Braced for invasion

THE interstate invasion is coming.

Sydney is poised to be overtaken by 40,000 rugby league- mad visitors from Victoria, Queensland and overseas for Sunday’s NRL grand final between Melbourne and North Queensland.

And News Corp can reveal the grand final tourists will pump about $ 40 million into the NSW economy during their visit.

It is anticipated that up to a quarter of the crowd at ANZ Stadium will have travelled from interstate or overseas. About 14,000 tickets were released to Storm and Cowboys members yesterday with those unsold available to the general public this morning.

As of three weeks ago, about 30 per cent of all tickets sold to the grand final had been purchased by fans from Melbourne, Brisbane and North Queensland.

“There is no better dollar spent by a southerner or a cane toad than a dollar spent in NSW,” said NSW Sports Minister Stuart Ayres.

“The Broncos versus Cowboys grand final two years ago was a boom for New South Wales. If you want to sell a drink or two, you’d better change your taps to XXXX. The invasion is coming.

“Watching Victorians and Queenslanders run into each other for 80 minutes sounds like great entertainment for New South Welshmen.”

About 10 planes full of Cowboys fans will fly into Sydney later this week.

“The NRL grand final attracts visitors from around Australia and the world to Sydney,” said Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall.

“Last year’s grand final between the Cronulla Sharks and Melbourne Storm attracted more than 32,000 domestic and international visitors, injecting almost $ 25 million into the local visitor economy.

“With two interstate teams in this year’s NRL grand final, we’re expecting a massive boost to the local economy when our neighbouring footy fans travel to the major events capital to take part.”

The NRL is working hard to fill ANZ Stadium amid some fears fans who bought tickets from eliminated Sydney clubs may not attend.

There may be some sort of buyback website set up later in the week.

“We are expecting a significant number of fans to travel from Melbourne and North Queensland for what will be a spectacular event. We’ve been given another incredible grand final matchup,” said NRL chief commercial officer Andrew Abdo.

“North Queensland Cowboys are on the verge of doing something no team has ever done before – winning the premiership from eighth place.”

Cowboys coach Paul Green is hoping for a massive North Queensland contingent.