Wollongong's elite sports bonanza rolls on into 2026
And who said what about the NSW Blues searching for a new training base?
Pics file, plus via internationalrugbyleague.com
It might be cricket season, but Wollongong is already making its presence felt ahead of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, with even more good news potentially on the way.
WIN Stadium will host a late-series double-header as part of the tournament, while the entire eight-team wheelchair World Cup will be staged at the adjoining WIN Entertainment Centre.
As part of the month-long men’s RLWC competition - played across nine venues nationwide - Wollongong will host England-Papua New Guinea on October 30, alongside the England-Samoa clash in the women’s tournament that same night.
The wheelchair competition also begins in Wollongong also on October 30, opening with Ireland v USA early afternoon, followed by England v Wales before the action starts next door.
The Illawarra Mercury reports Wollongong City Council Lord Mayor Tania Brown saying: “It’s exactly what we want, we want to be the city they come to for these international events. This one totally aligns with what we want for our city.”
These events extend a growing list of elite sporting fixtures Wollongong has secured in recent years, including the 2025 World Triathlon Championship Finals, the 2024 World Triathlon Cup, the 2022 UCI Road World Championships, last month’s international netball test, and the Australian Darts Masters in 2024 and 2025.
And the momentum may not stop there.
Speculation is mounting that Wollongong is under consideration as a new base for the NSW Blues, with News Corp reporting the State of Origin squad is looking to move on from its Blue Mountains training hub. Management and coach Laurie Daley are said to be considering a range of locations, with Wollongong reportedly among the contenders.
With construction progressing rapidly on The Bruce Gordon Centre at UOW’s Innovation Campus - a state-of-the-art high-performance facility - the Blues could be among the first elite squads to benefit from the new precinct.