The NRL can't safely throw players into a season relaunch with minimal notice, Brisbane Broncos coach Anthony Seibold says.
The NRL has banned all training involving contact between teammates amid the coronavirus shutdown, with players also barred from club facilities unless they have special permission.
With a deadline of September 1 set for a return date, yet the COVID-19 crisis threatening to be a long-term proposition, fitting in a month of preparation for players to safeguard against injuries seems increasingly unlikely.
The NRL has acknowledged the problem and Seibold reiterated that player safety could not be assured without adequate conditioning after a months-long shutdown.
"I think it would be very difficult, there's no doubt about that," Seibold told The Sunday Footy Show.
"I'm a big believer in your preparation and what you do at training transfers to game day, so if we only had a very limited preparation, I've got no doubt that it would have an impact on not just our side at the Broncos, but across the competition.
"I'm not too sure whether not training together, not doing specific training, then throwing the players into a high-intensity collision sport is the right thing for the players.
"First and foremost we would need some time to at least prepare the players because at the moment, there's no contact, there's no wrestle, there's no high-speed running.
"All those things help prepare the players and I suppose in-so-much protect the players against soft tissue injuries or collision injuries."
Sharks great Paul Gallen, who first raised his concerns for player welfare in his Wide World of Sports column, said that a minimum of one month's preparation was needed.
"I do think they need a good four to six weeks," Gallen told The Sunday Footy Show.
"If we send these guys back on the field with one week's preparation, all sorts of things can go wrong.
"We worry about players' health at the moment but there could be detrimental impacts on players' knees and shoulders.
"It's all sorts of different things that players need to get back up to speed to play again."
Seibold said that impacts on the players and the standard of the NRL could be felt into next season, especially if there was no further play this year.
"Certainly I think the players not having any opportunity for them to train as a team or somehow get back on the field this year, it will have implications, there's no doubt about that," Seibold said.
"Particularly in the early part of the pre-season and in the trial games. But I've got a lot of trust and belief in players that play in the NRL and more specifically the Broncos here.
"We'll just have to deal with whatever's thrown at us and whether we get back on the park this year or not, who knows? It will have some implications."
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/coronavirus-covid-19-impact-brisbane-broncos-anthony-seibold-paul-gallen/41e5355e-d716-42ec-9084-5e215d38f941
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