The best sports bars in Sydney

If you don't have tickets for Accor Stadium, the next best place to watch the Pathers take on the Storm has gotta be at Panthers HQ in Penrith, right? As one of the biggest clubs in the Southern Hemisphere, the Penrith Panthers has something for everyone – outdoor areas with big screens so the kids can run around while you watch the game, loads of different bars and restaurants, a Timezone, and lots more.

Being by the beach is all well and good but once the sun goes down, the surfboards, goggles and togs get put away and those sun-kissed bodies need a place to let off steam. And that place is the Coogee Bay Hotel, which has a dedicated sports bar if you're looking for somewhere to watch the game. From 4pm on Sunday October 6, you can get around the NRL grand final bash at Coogee Bay Hotel's Selina's and Sport Bar. 

It doesn't matter what the sports event is – the sprawling multi-venue establishment that is Bankstown Sports is always a good place to watch it. Come for dinner before the big game – there are great restaurants to suit every taste.

East Village's Athletic Club, a vintage sports-themed bar, is putting on a premium viewing package for the NRL grand final. For $89 per person, kick back to eight screens, bottomless beer and wine for two and a half hours, a pub feed and reserved seating. You can book on in here. If you're after something a little more casual, the Public Bar is taking walk-ins.

Come along to cheer on the mighty Panthers in their territory, in the Mondo (the open space between The Joan and Westfield Penrith, on High Street in Penrith). The council is putting on a big bash with face painting, kids' games, giveaways and light refreshments, commencing from 6pm before the 7:30pm kick-off. Note that this is an alcohol-free family-friendly event.

The new kid on the block, Penny's in Pott's Point, is dishing up delicious Sunday roasts with all the trimmings on Grand Final day, to enjoy while you watch the Panthers take on the Storm on the pub's big screens.

The 24/7 Sports Bar is your destination in The Star for all things sports-related. The bar features three mega screens as well as more than 50 LCD TVs (yes, 50). The menu features typical pub classics and the bar has a slew of rotating specials. Wendell Sailor is hosting giveaways and more for the NRL final weekend.

Billed as the "ultimate man cave", this contemporary take on the classic sports bar isn't merely a place to watch the game. There's the biggest foosball table in NSW, arcade-style basketball hoops and air hockey, and a purely pub menu with a few gourmet twists. Check out their sports screening schedule right here. 

The big drawcard of this Double Bay establishment is the beautifully appointed leafy garden bar, which conveniently means getting a seat in the older-style public bar with a great view of the big screens is a good bet. Of course, they'll be screening the NRL final.

Fancy a flutter? Every sporting event you can think of, including the NRL grand final, is available on the big screens here. Plus, they have a bistro menu that stretches from breakfast through to late night snacks so you are all sorted for game day.

When there’s a bite in the air that makes sitting in the garden a little too chilly for comfort, there’s no better way to spend an afternoon that posting up on one of the bar stools and watching the footy over a jug of beer and a Courty burger. 

This is the place where your booth comes with its own individual TV screen. That’s right, sports fans, the power is yours. If it’s televised, you can watch it here over beers and a Philly cheesesteak, so the NRL grand final is a no-brainer.

They love their sport so much at this Paddo/Woollahra borderlands hotel that we’ve seen them turn every seat in the house to face the big screen like it was a cinema, and they still post the televised sport schedule online so you never miss a match, whatever your code.

The ability to squash so many Sydney scenes inside a modest space is one of this pub’s most impressive attributes. On an unremarkable Saturday night you’ve got Bondi babes, indie kids, rugby league and AFL fans, sneaker freakers, hip-hop heads and what appears to be a crew of nonchalant models all cramming into the concrete courtyard for a good time.

At this gussied up Petersham pub you'll find a huge HD projector screen and good sound, both for sport as well as film screenings. With homemade woodfired pizzas, classic and craft beers on tap, and an all-natural wine list that changes with the seasons, this is an elegant (and delicious) place to catch the big game.

They have one of those ludicrously large projector screens for big games, plus TVs mounted around the main room of the beachfront RSL. The drinks are wallet-friendly, they do good trade in counter meals and if your team’s getting flogged you can always zone out and watch the breakers roll in over Bondi Beach instead.

This sports bar with plenty of screens is something of a Sydney institution – it proudly claims to be "Sydney's home of sport". Be ready to cheer long and loud with other sports fans who are ready to raise the roof of this CBD venue. It gets messy late here, but that's half the fun. The rest you can worry about at 2am. Or never, since it's open almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Sometimes a little nip and tuck can be good for business. We’re not talking a terrifying facelift, more a renovated bistro and a few craft beer taps to spice things up for the regulars. The public bar at the Golden Barley they’ve left well enough alone. Behind the beautiful old Art Deco façade there is still dark green carpet, comfy vinyl chairs, a Keno corner, and four big TVs for watching the game.

The bright front bar still shows footy on multiple screens, serves jugs of Carlton and holds fast to the kind of dark carpet that hides a myriad of sins. But prime real estate at the Vic is out the back on the huge, covered wooden deck with a shady tree at one end and a fire pit for the odd spit-roast lamb at the other and a big screen on one wall.

Watch all your favourite sports here, and even opt for a viewing package where you get drinks, a meal, and reserved area to watch the footy. The venue has been cosied up a bit, but there’s no serious refurb to get accustomed to. It’s just a little nicer, a lot cleaner and there’s a loaded steak sanga on the menu. 

This is a pub that’s sticking to its old-school guns. Inside you’ve got a hard-wearing, dark wooden bar, walls decked out in sports memorabilia, TVs tuned to the footy and stubby holders that you can buy on the spot. Over the massive beer garden there’s a huge domed roof protecting one half of the paved courtyard from inclement weather, and if you’ve got a faithful friend of the four-legged variety that’s AOK – dogs are welcome in the open-air section.

Rock up on a Sunday arvo and the front bar here is full of locals and regulars yelling at screens showing various sporting events and downing lager. It’s a beer-drinking, sports-watching kind of place. 

You might have pegged this Surry Hills bar as a spot for barbecue and American brews amongst the beautiful and beardy, but they made sure to mount two big screens behind the bar so you can get a lean on and catch every play over mac'n'cheese and slow-cooked ribs.

Manly’s sprawling boozer has undergone a lot of upgrades recently, but the public bar is still a great spot to draw up around the old horse-shoe shaped bar and sink dark ales and lager while the footy is on. 

If the large football on top of the roof doesn't give it away, you'll realise as soon as you step inside the Harlequin Inn that it's a sports-skewed pub. The four projector screens here attract big crowds for everything from big ticket boxing matches to weekly footy games, alongside American basketball and football matches throughout the day. If it's a really big game you may even see folks gathered on the footpaths peering into the large windows to catch some of the action.