OPINION: If I were Jacinda Ardern this morning, I'd pick up the phone and call NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and make the NRL rugby league grand final happen at Eden Park.
Abdo says after watching the Wallabies All Blacks game go ahead without a hitch, where the Wallabies were exempted from quarantine, Eden Park is an option to host one of Australia's biggest nights of the year.
It's a $30 million prize for the New Zealand economy and, boy, after a year of lockdowns - our hospitality and entertainment businesses could do with the leg up.
Abdo is a smart operator; he's teasing, prodding and flirting with the New Zealand Government - hoping it'll respond and act.
If I were Ardern, I'd take the bait and make it happen. You snooze, you lose.
This is the so-called prize for New Zealand being COVID-free.
If we ain't going to bank the upside and the benefits, then what's the point of putting up with the pain?
And it's not just money in the bank. Most Kiwis who love their league are unlikely to ever get to an NRL grand final - this gives them every chance.
A free train to Eden Park sounds cheaper than the price of flights, taxis and hotels in Sydney.
The Wallabies' free pass into New Zealand was a one-off decision, based on the economic impact on Auckland.
It was a brilliant idea - the kind of flexibility not around in the early COVID-19 months.
But New Zealand businesses expect us to be nimble, flexible and make stuff happen. Frankly, it would be absurd not to be - not to mention negligent.
The two best NRL rugby league sides in the final - Six60 beforehand maybe? Millions of dollars for Kiwi businesses and one of the best stadiums in the world, apparently.
Where do we sign up?
Duncan Garner hosts The AM Show.
