The poll results are likely to cause further unrest within the Coalition ranks, as MPs worry that the stadiums plan will become politically damaging in the final 12 months before the election. Next Friday - March 23 - marks one year until the state election. One senior party source said: “It’s fair to say there is concern from MPs about the way the policy was explained to the public. We have to do better at selling it.” The Premier and her sports minister, Stuart Ayres, have stood firm in their decision to push ahead with the plan, but a final cabinet decision is still weeks away as the government waits for business cases for both stadiums to be finalised. Gladys Berejiklian remains preferred premier, according to the latest poll. Credit:Cole Bennetts

It was expected that cabinet would approve the rebuild of Allianz as early as this week but it is now more likely that both stadiums will be considered at the same time, buying the government more time to convince voters - and MPs - of its merits. More than half of those polled (53.8 per cent) also felt the government was spending too much on major sporting infrastructure while 37.2 per cent felt they were spending about the right amount. The poll of 1521 NSW voters taken on Thursday night shows the Liberal/National coalition leading Labor by 52 per cent to 48 per cent on a two-party preferred basis. It hasn’t shifted since the previous ReachTEL poll in October. The Coalition’s primary vote has increased after taking a dip and is now at 41.9 per cent, up from 37.6 per cent in October.

The Liberals’ primary vote increased to 34.4 per cent (up from 29.3) while the Nationals’ dropped to 7.6 from 8.3 per cent. Labor’s primary vote is also up at 32.5 per cent compared with 31 per cent in October. The Greens are at 9.4 per cent and One Nation, which has formally registered to run candidates in March, is on 5.1 per cent. Independents and others received 4.9 per cent support and 6.2 per cent of voters remained undecided. One year out from the election, Ms Berejiklian remains steady as the preferred leader, with 52.3 per cent believing she would make a better premier than opposition leader Luke Foley (47.7 per cent). There was no change in preferred leader from the last poll. Ms Berejiklian is more popular with males than females, while more females support Mr Foley than males, the poll results show.