Crystelle Cordero
See the full 2021 NRL Draw here.
THE Rabbitohs will welcome arch-rivals the Roosters for Friday Night Football in Round 3; the surging Bulldogs will host the Rabbitohs in the annual Good Friday classic in Round 4 . . . two absolute blockbusters to launch the NRL season at Stadium Australia in 2021.
The last time South Sydney played at home against the Roosters they piled on a record 60 points to inflict the worst ever defeat on their Eastern Suburbs rivals in 112 years of footy.
It was a night of great celebration for the South Sydney faithful at their home stadium and set the Roosters on a giant slippery dip to rugby league oblivion in 2020.
Now the two great rivals are set to go again in 2021 in a Round 3 Friday night game that will be one of the highlights of the early rounds of the NRL.
The annual Good Friday NRL game at Stadium Australia – run in conjunction with the Sydney Royal Easter Show – traditionally attracts one of the biggest attendances of the regular-season.
This year it’s the Bulldogs’ turn to host the annual game as the club rebuilds impressively under new coach Trent Barrett. The Bulldogs faithful will be out in force as Rabbitohs Members and supporters take up residency in the eastern grandstand as the away supporters.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs will play 9 home games at Stadium Australia in season 2021 with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs also playing 5 of their biggest games at Stadium Australia.
Among 5 cracking games, the Bulldogs will take on Western Sydney rivals Parramatta Eels at Stadium Australia on Saturday 1 May and host the St George Illawarra Dragons on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend Monday on 14 June at Stadium Australia.
The Bulldogs will play a further 4 of their home games at nearby sister venue Bankwest Stadium. Stadium Australia Club Members will be entitled to attend the Bulldogs’ home games at Bankwest Stadium.
The potentially series-deciding State of Origin Game III is scheduled for Stadium Australia on Wednesday 14 July with the NRL Grand Final set down for Sunday 3 October.
All NRL events at Stadium Australia in season 2021 will be staged in alignment with existing NSW Public Health orders and guidelines at the time.
