Rugby league's biggest city could be left without a week-one finals game, which hasn't happened since 2016 outside of the COVID-impacted 2021 season.
Back in 2016, the week one slate saw four finals across four cities, with only a Panthers-Bulldogs clash giving Sydneysiders a game to go to.
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Brisbane hosted the Broncos-Titans game at Suncorp Stadium, drawing over 43,000 fans in a high-scoring encounter.
The Raiders faced the Sharks in Canberra, a tight contest decided by just two-points at full time.
Melbourne welcomed the Storm-Cowboys showdown at AAMI Park, with a home crowd exceeding 21,000 who witnessed a hard-fought victory.
This year's picture is even more striking. With Cronulla's win over Newcastle in Round 26 locking in the top six host teams, only the Sharks and Bulldogs are Sydney-based.
Canberra and Melbourne's positions are decided, with the Raiders and Storm already guaranteed qualifying finals.
If Cronulla secures fourth place by beating Canterbury in Round 27, and Brisbane fall to Melbourne, all week one finals would be staged outside of Sydney.
That would send matches to Canberra, Melbourne, Auckland and Brisbane.
The lack of action in the harbour city would likely have significant implications on fan engagement to kick-off the finals series.
Broadcasting figures may go up interstate, but could the lack of local flavour mute the interactions in Sydney?
It's likely that Sydney-based sponsors would be sour on this particular scenario, with limited exposure in one of the highest traffic weeks on the rugby league calendar.
This hypothetical highlights both the success of interstate clubs, but also underscores Sydney's central role in the finals spectacle.