Talk about divine intervention.

Brisbane has suddenly been presented an opportunity to potentially host the 2028 NRL grand final due to Sydney having a scheduling clash with none other than His Holiness, Pope Leo XVI.

The Pope will be visiting Sydney in October that year for the International Eucharist Congress. Hundreds of thousands of Catholic pilgrims are expected to attend, with the congress itself being held at Darling Harbour, while it is likely an outdoor mass will be held at Randwick Racecourse.

In 1986 Pope John Paul II held a mass at Randwick that attracted 200,000 worshippers. It is hard to see how the city would be able to cope with such a massive influx of people, as well as tens of thousands of footy fans, on the same weekend.

Already, Western Australia has put their hand up, with Premier Roger Cook using the momentum of the Perth Bears entering the competition next season to throw big money to lure the event.

But let’s be fair dinkum here. If the NRL grand final needs to find a new home, then look no further than Brisbane.

In fact, it is to the game’s eternal shame that Brisbane has only ever hosted one NRL decider. And while ARLC chairman Peter V’landys says he is open to moving the game on a year-by-year basis, so far nothing has happened.

Brisbane, of course, mounts an irresistible case for hosting the NRL grand final in any year ahead of Sydney – the self-appointed home of the game.

Brisbane is home to Suncorp Stadium, universally regarded as the best rectangular stadium in Australia and the best rugby league venue in the world.

And it is only going to get better, with the venue about to undertake a $500m upgrade to increase capacity and greatly improve the fan experience, which will conveniently be finished by 2028.

And Queensland is Australia’s rugby league heartland, with a passion for the game unmatched by anywhere south of the Tweed.

We may have joined what NSW Premier Chris Minns calls a “holy war” for the grand final a bit late, but it is encouraging to see Premier David Crisafulli coming out strong.

“I think it would make complete sense for the NRL to choose Queensland and we continue to put that case forward,” he said at the Ekka yesterday.

“By the way, at the moment, I’m not sure about WA (being) rugby league heartland just quite yet. I know they’re working on it, and the Bears will be a great addition, but I reckon Queensland might be a better location.”

Of course, he now needs to stump up some cash. Mr V’landys will undoubtably play the states off against each other to get the best return. But before he makes the decision he should also consider how Brisbane stepped in to host the 2021 NRL decider amid Covid lockdowns in NSW, and how Queensland has turned Magic Round into an event that interstate fans love as much as the locals do.

Meanwhile, Mr Minns has suggested Sydney could host both events at the same time. Maybe Mr V’landys could invite His Holiness – a noted sports nut – out to Homebush to watch the grand final. We hear he’s a Saints fan.

Or Mr V’landys could make the only sensible decision available and reward Queensland for being the true home of rugby league in Australia, and commit to Suncorp hosting the 2028 NRL grand final.

DRAWING LINE ON INTEGRITY

In this column last Saturday we called out the government for failing to live up to the transparency and integrity commitments they made while in opposition.

Emails we revealed between Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm’s office and the Premier’s office, discussing how to delay releasing damaging data, perfectly illustrated that the Crisafulli government had fallen into the same habits that they had previously attacked the Palaszczuk/Miles governments for.

In The Courier-Mail on Monday we revealed another example. In their negotiations with the Together Union regarding pay and conditions, the government proposed ditching a tool that tracks the number of vulnerable children managed by the Department of Child Safety. Such a move would have made it harder for the media, as well as people within the department, to see if they were actually making a positive difference. It also had the potential to take pressure off under-fire minister Camm.

However Premier David Crisafulli yesterday declared he didn’t think the tool should be replaced, while continuing to back his minister. At the very least we think the Premier should ask Ms Camm why she thought this was a good idea in the first place.

The Premier needs to stop the rot in regards to government integrity. And this is as good a place to start as any.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here