Packer’s 1995 Riddle: Why You Can’t Buy a Grand Final

In a cramped Melbourne office in 1995, a media magnate and a future rugby legend sat across a battered mahogany desk. Kerry Packer, known for buying empires, posed a question that sounded like a casual pep talk but was really a cross-industry audit: "How do you win a grand final?"

Packer had once claimed you could buy a title, a belief akin to buying a share before it goes public. He was testing whether a headline could be purchased for a game, a risky move that often ends up in the market’s dusty archives.

Fittler, who would later command the Roosters, replied with quiet confidence. He spoke of mastering volatility and timing the release of talent like a trader timing a market dip. His strategy involved keeping the team’s morale as steady as the interest rates on a long-term bond.

The meeting presaged a shift in how sporting success was valued. The Roosters would later become a listed entity in the eyes of the public, their performance tracked by fans as if it were a share price. Meanwhile, the city’s trams, delayed by a budget that never quite made the cut, served as a perfect allegory for the delays that plague sporting schedules. Just as commuters braced for the next carriage, fans waited for the next play, each delay adding a layer of suspense to the final outcome.