NRL Round 2 to go ahead behind closed doors

The NRL season will still continue as planned despite the threat of the coronavirus – but that could change at any moment.

League CEO Todd Greenberg and Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys announced in a press conference on Sunday morning that Round 2 of the season will be played behind closed doors, with a decision on the rest of the season to be made in the coming days.

But V’landys said the ongoing coronavirus crisis could force a rethink on the situation.

“This can change by the hour. All decisions we will make will have the safety and health of our players as paramount,” he said.

“It’s one of the toughest challenges for us to stay viable in the history of the game.

“We are going to review all options including isolating players or suspending the season. We’ve commissioned a pandemic expert and we are going to act on their advice.

“The paramount consideration is the players’ safety.”

With the decision to play matches without a crowd expected to hugely impact the financial state of the league, V’landys has called on the Australian government to provide aid.

“I spent all day yesterday looking into our accounts and all I thought was catastrophic,” he said.

“It’s very bleak, we don’t want to put dollar amounts on it at this stage. We need to be diligent. We will be going to government.

“We are asking for an economic stimulus [from the government]. Rugby League and every other sport should be in consideration.

“We are asking the government to invest not only in the economic situation but the social benefits of rugby league.”

Following the New Zealand government’s announcement on Saturday that anyone entering the country after this weekend must self-isolate for 14 days, the New Zealand Warriors will remain in Australia for the foreseeable future.

The team are expected to be based in Kingscliff on the border between Queensland and NSW for now, with their Round 2 match against the Canberra Raiders reportedly moved from Auckland to the Gold Coast.

However, players Peta Hiku and Patrick Herbert have returned to New Zealand for family reasons. Hiku’s partner is eight months pregnant, while Herbert also has a young child.

Greenberg praised the Warriors for their decision to remain in the country.

“The Warriors deserve a lot of credit, for the greater good of the competition they understand their obligations,” he said.

“If that means bringing families across we’ll assess that.”

from The Roar https://www.theroar.com.au/2020/03/15/nrl-round-2-to-go-ahead-behind-closed-doors/