Grab your club scarves, face paint and giant inflatable fingers, people: this weekend we’re getting two grand finals for the price of one. On Saturday, the AFL Grand Final sees the Hawks and the West Coast Eagles go head to head, followed by the NRL showdown on Sunday between the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys. With so much excitement (and beer) flying around, you’re bound to work up an appetite. Here are our team’s picks for where to score a decent feed without missing out on a slice of the action.
**BRISBANE
** With two Queensland NRL teams gearing up for the premiership, pubs across the state will be tuning in and turning up the volume for an epic afternoon. For craft beers, house-baked bread and seasonally inspired pub fare, Statler & Waldorf (25 Caxton St, Brisbane, Qld, 07 3368 1932) stands out among the pack, while Riverbar & Kitchen (Riparian Plaza, Promenade level, 71 Eagle St, Brisbane, Qld, 07 3211 9020) is reinventing pub classics with a menu featuring the likes of soft-shell crab burgers and chorizo and Manchego pizza.
MELBOURNE
Catch both games at Middle Park Hotel (102 Canterbury Rd, Middle Park, Vic, 03 9690 1958), one of the country’s sportiest pubs (there are nine plasma screens), plus a menu built for carnivores. Drink specials are the name of the game at The Builders Arms (211 Gertrude St, Fitzroy Vic, 03 9417 7700), with $2 pots of Cricketers Arms along with pre-game snacks from early afternoon until the first goal. The Botanical in South Yarra (169 Domain Rd, South Yarra, Vic, 03 9820 7888) is also turning up the heat with a dusk-till-dawn Saturday barbecue and a tipping competition.
**PERTH
** Calling all Hawks in the west, The Inglewood Hotel (cnr Fifth Ave and Beaufort St, Mt Lawley, WA, 08 9370 5511) will be showing both games and features an extensive menu crammed with things like smoked chorizo with sloe-gin glaze and wagyu BLTs. Or for the punters, the big screens and bar prices at Crown Sports Bar (Crown Perth, Great Eastern Hwy, Burswood, WA, 08 9362 7699) has your game days, and nights, covered. Fans of the NRL can saddle up to watch the Queenslanders make history at JB O’Reilly’s (99 Cambridge St, West Leederville, WA, 08 9382 4555) over a pint of Guinness.
SYDNEY
AFL fans can catch the game at Paddington’s MVP, Four in Hand (105 Sutherland St, Paddington, NSW, 02 9326 2254), while enjoying Colin Fassnidge’s crowd-pleasing concessions of braised lamb shoulder with new potatoes and kurobuta pork chop with colcannon and kale. The newest player to rejoin the Paddington pack, The Bellevue Hotel (159 Hargrave St, Paddington, NSW, 02 9363 2293), will also have the games in surround-sound, alongside snacks ranging from fried chicken to Yasa caviar. Or if you’re headed to the beach over the long weekend, get the best of both worlds at Coogee Pavilion (169 Dolphin St, Coogee, NSW, 02 9240 3000) with a feed involving mini lobster rolls and some of the city’s best fish and chips.
If you’re entertaining at home, here are some great snacks to feed a crowd.
