Portaloo Park 2.0: The Sharks women’s team change near the men’s urinals

July 2, 2026 — 5:00am

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The NRL is on the verge of announcing a $5 billion-plus television rights deal over seven years.

Massive money – about $750m a year. Overall annual turnover for the game will easily exceed a billion dollars.

The game is big business, demanding the highest of standards.

By and large that happens, a notable exception being Ocean Protect Stadium, AKA Shark Park, AKA Portaloo Park, which epitomises the lowest of standards. Somehow this multibillion-dollar game stands by and allows NRL matches to be played there.

On Thursday night the ground has the honour of hosting the NRLW season opener between the Sharks and Knights.

It should be a source of great embarrassment and shame to the game that the Sharks women’s team don’t have their own dressing shed. They use the decaying men’s team shed, putting on their playing gear near the urinals. There are only three regular toilets and the showers have no doors. It’s unacceptable, yet somehow allowed.

Last year in this publication we documented the poor state of the ground. The photos shocked many in the game and led to ridicule........

© The Sydney Morning Herald