NRL fever runs high in Far North Queensland

North Queensland Cowboys fans in Townsville are swarming to their local airport to head to Sydney to support their team in today’s NRL grand final.

Seven charter planes will leave Townsville today, filled with die-hard fans lucky enough to snag tickets, family members of the players, and club staff.

The 1000 people travelling on the flights to Sydney today will be among the 80,000 fans expected to pack ANZ Stadium tonight for the grand final.

Those fans left behind in Townsville will have plenty of options to gather to watch the game, with parties and barbecues popping up across the city.

The Cowboys Leagues Club is expecting 1000 people at its carpark party, where it will close one level of the multilevel complex and set up a big screen to watch the game.

The main street will also be closed down for a viewing party with several thousand fans expected to gather to watch the game on a big screen set up across the road.

Fans should be careful not to be tripped up by daylight saving, with clocks going forward an hour at 2am in NSW, and kick-off happening an hour earlier in the Sunshine State (6.15pm AEST).