Round-Up: NRL isolation bubble to burst, Crowds back for Boxing Day Test, Olympic flame tour, and more

Sunday's NRL grand final in Sydney provided a 12 per cent boost in television ratings from last year, 2.97 million tuned in to free-to-air broadcaster Nine up from the 2.64 million that watched the 2019 grand final. More than 37,000 fans were present at the ANZ Stadium – WAToday

NRL bio expert David Heslop claims strict protocols on players and officials can be safely relaxed "almost fully" when the pre-season begins next month, foreshadowing plans to all but burst the competition’s isolation bubble in 2021 – Brisbane Times