NRL on schedule despite concerns
The NRL is not changing dates for a return to pre-season training or the first games of the NRLW season in 2022 despite a spike in Covid numbers across NSW on Wednesday.
NSW recorded 11,201 cases, an increase of about 5100 on Tuesday’s numbers, as the Omicron variant spreads.
Players are on a two-week Christmas break but are expected to return to pre-season training from next week.
Round one of the postponed 2021 NRLW season is scheduled to kick-off on February 27.
But in a bid to avoid disruptions to pre-season preparations and the NRLW season, the NRL has ordered tens of thousands of rapid tests that will be administered daily to male and female players over the next few months.
It’s understood the NRL is also finalising a number of “additional biosecurity” measures that will be introduced early next week.
The NRL said it was unlikely players would be forced into a bubble similar to the past two seasons but conceded the NRL would have to adapt quickly to any new public health orders.
“We’ll be testing everyone daily before they go to training for quite a few months,” an NRL spokesperson said. “We’ll be giving details to clubs next week with the exact procedures they need to follow.
“At this stage, there will be some additional restrictions, but not in a bubble as such, that the clubs will be advised of in the next week. They are still being worked on. The situation is changing daily.
“We’re taking all the medical advice and monitoring what happens daily and adapting as quickly as we need to.”
Isolation rules for positive cases and close contacts have wreaked havoc on elite competitions both locally and across the globe.
The A-league and NBL have had to postpone matches while the third Ashes Test dodged a bullet after a Covid scare on Tuesday.
The EPL, NFL and NHL have all had to cancel or schedule matches. But the NFL confirmed they would be reducing the minimum stand-down period to five days for a positive case.
The NRL’s isolation rules are in line with the health advice of state governments. In NSW, positive cases have to isolate for at least 10 days. But it’s believed the NSW government is considering slashing the isolation period from 10 to five days in the new year. It’s a move that would relieve some strain on player rosters and player availability for positive cases in the NRL.
The NRL could receive another boost after NSW Health confirmed the seven-day isolation period for close contacts would be scrapped from Wednesday.