Bizarre social distancing for Warriors
From yesterday the Warriors players were allowed to smash into each other in training, but still can’t be near each other off the field.
The players have moved into a bizarre stage of their lockdown in Tamworth, NSW. So the NRL has allowed players to resume contact training, but the strict social distancing rules are still in place in their hotel.
So players still can’t sit near each other when they have meals or shake hands when they pass each other, but when they’re on the training paddock, it’s all on.
‘‘It’s real weird, but it’s the protocols we have to follow at the moment,’’ Warriors forward Lachlan Burr said yesterday.
‘‘Hopefully it all gets lifted soon, so we can get back to normal life.’’
It does seem perplexing that the Warriors are stuck in a world where they only have to obey social distancing rules some of the time and it’s a curiosity that’s not lost on the players.
‘‘It makes no sense to us either,’’ Burr said.‘‘But it’s the way the NRL wants it at this stage and we’ve just got to follow the rules.’’ Being able to do contact training makes the NRL starting again feel more real for the players. No longer will they have to use socks as tags, but can tackle for the first time since their game against the Raiders in late March.
‘‘The last week has been really weird,’’ Burr said. ‘‘We’ve been in camp and keeping our social distancing and with training, keeping our spacing.
‘‘On the field, we’re doing everything normal now.
‘‘But when it comes to meals and meetings, we’re still doing our social distancing and keeping our spacing.’’
The NRL is expected to restart on May 28, with the Warriors likely playing their first game a couple of days later.
But there is yet another spanner in the works, with referees not ruling out striking over the money saving proposal to have just one ref in games this season, rather than two.
Given all the Warriors have sacrificed to be a part of this year’s competition, it would be a cruel blow if they resumption of the league was put off by referee’s industrial action.
Having just one referee will change the dynamics of NRL games. Some believe it would result in more consistent calling, but the other side of the argument is that it will be harder to keep the players in line.
‘‘With one referee you get away with a lot more,’’ Burr said.
‘‘It puts more on the touch judges and I think maybe they should ease into it.
‘‘Getting rid of it all of a sudden and changing the rules like that, it probably doesn’t help a lot of players and it’s changing the game a lot.’’