Planning to visit a few NRL grounds whilst in Sydney for WCC from my base at the Sydney Boulevard Hotel. Looking at google maps it looks like Redfern, St George, ANZ, Parammatta, Penrith and Manly all look feasible but I wondered if they are in practice, whether there are any other grounds in reasonable travelling distance, what the best mode of travel is including Taxi operators?

WIN Stadium down in Wollongong is also worth checking out, it is the best playing surface I have seen and backs onto the beach, it's only about 50 minutes from Sydney.
Leichardt Oval is great for playing and watching, it is a real intimate setting and is in the inner city, all these grounds can be gotten to by train, bus or taxi except Brookvale Oval in Manly, you will probably have to catch a Ferry from Circular Quay then Taxi or Bus to the ground.

They are all pretty feasible, Redfern is just a training field now so you can have a walk on the pitch. The local kids play in there when not in use. You can do tours of ANZ which are well worth it. I wouldn't bother with Penrith, average stadium way out of the City, abit of wast of time. Manly is the most difficult of the lot, but I would recommend taking the ferry over to Manly anyway, and from there is around a 15-20 bus ride. Go to Parra just so you can go to Peter Wynns, the best Rugby League shop you would have ever seen. You can have a decent look at the stadium and visit the Leagues club, not so much with St George though, I think you would be disappointed with that one. You can get the train to Parra and ANZ. Bus or train to Refern. Ferry and bus to Manly. Far cheaper than a taxi.

Dont bother with WIN stadium in Wollongong, mainly because its in Wollongong. You'll spend an hour on a train to visit a nothing town, just to stand outside of a stadium. The last time I was there, there wasn't any decent views outside the stadium and It wont be open to the public. Don't waste your time. If you just want to see the grounds, then Parra and Manly are worth it, and you have the added attraction of Peter Wynns and Manly beach. Refern as I said is just a training field in the middle of housing area but you can go on the pitch. The Bunnies leagues club is no longer. ANZ you can do stadium tours, which I would recommend. Others aren't really worth it, unless there is a game on. There just stadiums, and you cant get into most of them.

I intend to go to a few of the stadiums whilst im there. Does anybody know if any of the NRL teams have open training sessions?

I watched Penrith train this morning for a few minutes before I went for lunch into their leagues club just opposite. They train in an open session every weekday except Wednesday(usually morning sessions) on an area in front of their Stadium, which is generally locked.

Roosters train in Moore Park, Rabbitohs train at Redfern, Cronulla train at the side of their ground. All open sessions.

Great, thanks for the info!

Hi guys. I lived in Aus for a year. My advice is get a MyMulti 1 travel card. About $40 and you can travel anywhere in zone 1 for 7 days. This will include Alianz stadium,SCG, Manly, liechardt oval and redfern. I used to go to redfern a lot to watch souths train. Zone 1 covers all the main tourist zones in Sydney such as Bondi beach, coogee, circular quay (Sydney harbour bridge and opera house), manly. Zone 2 and 3 reaches out to ANZ stadium and cronulla. So may be woth paying $10 extra if you want to visit there. Public transport in Sydney is quality. Never waiting more than 10 mins for a bus to anywhere. Ferrys to manly are every 30 mins. The easts league club (sydney roosters club) is at Bondi junction which you can get by train or bus. And I'm sure the roosters players go in there after games. Well after reading morleys book he mentioned it a lot. For match days at Allianz stadium there are. Buses from circular quay that go direct to ground and are free.

Thanks SB25, Great information, have been to Sydney twice before and didn't know you could get a travel card like that. Will certainly be looking at one this time.

Kingy

Only person ever to think that

You cant get to Manly on a MyMulti 1 you need a MyMulti 3 for that. Prices have just gone up so its $46 for zone 1, $54 for Zone 2 and $63 for Zone 3.

Anyone thinking of going to Manly just get a MyMulti 3. That will enable you to go anywhere by by bus, train and ferry, even out to the Blue Mountains. It will cost $14.80 for a return ferry ticket to Manly otherwise.

There is no free buses that goes direct from Circular Quay. The only free buses in the city, just go up George Street from Central Station to Circular Quay. Either walk, plenty of bars on the way or get the bus from Central direct to the ground which costs $3 each way.

Definitely get one when you get here, there well worth it. Just check the map on the link to see which one you will need rlhttp://www.sydneytrains.info/tickets/pdf/mymulti_fare_map.pdfrl

They don't cover the Airport station though so you will still have the pay the access fee there which is now $12.60.

I got a My Multi 3 weekly ticket when i went in March. I will deffo be getting another one when i get there.
I went all over the place (Penrith,Woolongong,Cronulla,Manly,Parramatta) etc.
Best value for money ever.

Do you have a rough idea of the times souths train?

Varries, each week. It will be pre-season, so keep an eye on the website. If you cant find any info, best to go earlier in the day.