Footy boss dishes up brutal dig to the AFL as NRL smashes Grand Final viewing figures

Peter V’landys has taken a brutal swipe at the AFL, after Sunday’s thrilling NRL Grand Final drew in record television audiences from around the world.

It was a final for the ages, with the Brisbane Broncos staging an incredible comeback victory to defeat Melbourne Storm, with star man Reece Walsh spurring his side on to a 26-22 victory and end the Queensland club’s 19-year wait for a premiership title.

The match has gripped audiences across Australia with an average of 4.46million people nationally tuning in for the match.

At one stage, 6.4m Australians tuned in to watch Channel Nine’s coverage of the game.

Nine reports that the broadcast drew in more than one million more people than it’s figures from last year’s game between Penrith and Melbourne, which saw 3.41m people tune in.

One week ago, Brisbane Lions claimed their second successive AFL premiership title against Geelong, but the rival code fell short of the NRL’s viewing figures, amassing an average of 4.18m.

On top of that, record audiences also tuned in for Brisbane’s victory in the NRLW Grand Final against the Sydney Roosters. One million people tuned in for the match, which Nine say is a 36 per cent increase up on the 2024 season.

In recent weeks, NRL bosses have been reveling in the sheer volume of viewers who have tuned in for this year’s finals series, with V’landys and co having last week revealed that there were discussions around moving the time of the NRL Grand Final to an afternoon kick-off. 

It comes after the Broncos’ preliminary final victory against Penrith last week - a late afternoon kick-off - pulled in record numbers.

But now that the dust is beginning to settle on Sunday’s showpiece event, V’landys couldn’t help but take a swipe at rivals, the AFL.

'The way they (the AFL) have treated us is they have always looked down on us,' the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) chairman said.

'They have never taken us seriously.

‘We have shown them that they need to take us seriously because we are serious.

'The numbers are showing that now. For someone who was laughing at us, it's the reverse now. I am proud of the fact that rugby league has lifted so much to be doing what it is now.'

It comes as the league is in the midst of negotiating a new television rights deal, which is due to commence in the 2027 season.

While all eyes will now look to this summer’s Ashes Series, before we return for the annual Las Vegas round in March, V’landys is conscious that the league needs to keep innovating to stay one step ahead.

'The results are going to be hard to beat in the future,' V'landys said.

'We have to look at doing things better. We have to keep innovating. Our players are doing the right thing.

'Players like Kaeo Weekes and Ethan Strange are coming through. They are going to keep coming. Of course, we have the big guns like Reece Walsh and Nathan Cleary.

'The ability and skill of the players is like never before. It's all about entertainment. We're in the entertainment business.

'Success breeds success. The big one we need to get now is the bog oak tree called broadcast. That's the final icing on the cake.' 

Speaking prior to the Grand Final, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo marvelled at the increase in viewing numbers over the entirety of the 2025 season, while 31per cent more viewers tuned in for the Grand Final compared to 2024.  

'We've had a phenomenal season, we've broken records, the response from our fans has been incredible and that's because the football has been incredible,' he said. 

'We have Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney represented, and we have the New Zealand Warriors and the Burleigh Bears represented in the State Championships so that's three massive games of football.'