Purple reign: The Storm believe a Melbourne NRL grand final could sell out the MCG. Credit:AAP "If the decision was ever made to transfer the rights to the grand final and open it up to a tender process or bidding process, then absolutely Melbourne could host the grand final tomorrow," he said. "In fact, if Richmond hadn't have got up (on Saturday) night and it was a GWS-Adelaide grand final they should have shifted the AFL to Adelaide Oval and they should have played the (NRL) grand final here at the MCG. "I guarantee you the NRL grand final in Melbourne would have 100,000 people at the MCG and it would be one of the most spectacular events our game has ever seen. You don't just say that with no confidence. You say that because you saw 90,000-plus descend on Origin in 2015. And you will see that again next year when you've got game one played here at the MCG." There is no contract in place for the grand final to be played in Sydney beyond 2018 and its future is dependent on the state government agreeing to redevelop ANZ Stadium into a 75,000-seat world-class rectangular venue.

The NRL and the government have a memorandum of understanding that would see the grand final staged in Sydney for 20 years following the rebuild of the Sydney Olympic Park stadium but that deal is contingent on upgrades being made to ANZ, Allianz Stadium and the construction of a new 30,000-seater at Parramatta. The latter project is already underway but the cabinet of the Berejiklian government is yet to discuss a final plan for the rollout of its stadia strategy. Even if ANZ is given the facelift that the NRL desires, at least two grand finals would likely have to be played elsewhere during the redevelopment. The leading contenders for those two games are understood to be Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium and the SCG. The Storm, however, are making a strong case for Melbourne to get a start. Television figures in Melbourne suggest the code is on the up south of the border, assisted by an all-conquering Storm side that will square off against North Queensland in this year's grand final at ANZ next Sunday. Loading

"You can almost guarantee a sellout if you took it away and you know it's going to be really well supported," Donaghy said. "That's partially because it's an event but also because the game is growing in its popularity here. You have a look at our round 26 game against Canberra ... we were live on a Saturday night into Melbourne on free-to-air on Channel 9 and it rated higher in Melbourne than the Wallabies-Argentina (rugby Test) on free-to-air across the country. That game rated higher in Melbourne than that Wallabies Test did across the country. There is an appetite."