St George, then Penrith for Warriors

The Warriors face feisty former hooker Issac Luke first up when they play the St George-Illawarra Dragons in a revamped NRL draw released yesterday.

The May 3o fixture is a home game for the Warriors who have relocated to Tamworth in New South Wales to avoid coronavirusrelated travel restrictions. The Warriors then play Penrith on Friday June 5.

The Auckland-based side’s home fixtures will be played at venues in NSW with the NRL looking to finalise the exact locations. That should take place once all biosecurity protocols and measures are set, probably during the next 24-48 hours.

The NRL avoided a massive headache by not scheduling any teams with non-vaccinated players for matches in Queensland in the opening two rounds.

Crucially though, none of Canberra, Manly or Canterbury are drawn to play away matches against Queensland teams in the opening fortnight.

Penrith also have both their games in Sydney, after not disclosing to the media whether all their players had been vaccinated.

Had they been set to travel to Queensland, it would have caused a political storm given that state government will not allow players to take to the field without the jab unless they have a medical exemption.

■ The NRL is on a collision course with the Twenty20 World Cup with the second State of Origin set

Draw for the opening two rounds of the revised NRL:

ROUND THREE Thursday May 28:

9.50pm, Brisbane v Parramatta

8pm, North Queensland v Gold Coast; 9.55pm, Sydney Roosters v South Sydney 5pm, v St George Illawarra; 7.30pm, Cronulla v Wests Tigers; 9.35pm, Melbourne v Canberra 6.05pm, Penrith v Newcastle; 8.30pm, Manly v Canterbury

Friday May 29:

Saturday May 30: Warriors

Sunday May 31:

ROUND FOUR: Thursday June 4:

9.50pm, Brisbane v Sydney Roosters 8pm, Penrith v 9.55pm, Melbourne v South Sydney

Friday June 5: Warriors;

Saturday June 6:

7.30pm, Parramatta v Manly; 9.35pm, North Queensland v Cronulla 6.05pm, Canberra v Newcastle; 8.30pm, Gold Coast v Wests Tigers 6.05pm, Canterbury v St George Illawarra

Sunday June 7: Monday June 8:

to clash with Australia’s possible semi-final at the SCG.

All three Origins will reportedly be played in the space of 14 days this year after the season, on November 4, 11 and 18.

It’s expected the men’s T20 World Cup will be cancelled or postponed, amid concerns over the ability of 15 teams to travel to Australia and whether crowds can attend. But after Channel Nine aired concerns over clashes with the World Cup last month, a clash appears certain if the tournament does go ahead.