Croad: Fax can survive RL’s coronavirus shutdown
HALIFAX’S FOOTBALL manager Ian Croad has said he is ‘personally confident’ the club will survive the financial consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rugby league at levels in the northern hemisphere is now locked down until April 3, with Australia’s NRL - which had played a full round of fixtures behind closed doors last weekend - following suit on Monday.
How long the current shutdown lasts remains to be seen, although few in the game are predicting a resumption any time soon.
For a sport in which clubs at all levels - but particularly outside Super League - rely heavily on gate income from home games, the consequences have been recognised as potentially catastrophic.
Fax responded immediately by agreeing what is believed to be a significant - but temporary - wage cut with all employees, including coach Simon Grix and his players, to minimise expenditure.
Croad, a former Shay director who now manages Fax’s transfer dealings, said he believed that the club’s ‘Plan A’ made the business sustainable in the short term, with any government help only likely to improve the situation.
“We took the steps we needed to take to secure our future and, personally, I’m confident that we will come out the other side of this,” he said.
“I can’t speak for everyone in the game, and as we all know the situation is changing daily, but we’ve done everything we can.
“We have Plan A, which we believe is enough, so if we end up with some government help and move to Plan B or Plan C, they should only improve the situation.”
Croad said Fax had engaged accountants to investigate whether some or all of their employees were eligible to have 80 per cent of their wages paid by the state under the terms of the scheme that was revealed by the government last week to help prevent businesses laying off staff.
“At the moment, that’s unclear,” he said.
“We are looking at how that might impact on the business and the time frames involved.
“It’s not just about whether the money’s accessible, it’s how it fits into our cashflow.
“It’s also complicated by the fact that a lot of the players have two jobs; one with us, one with someone else.”
WAKEFIELD TRINITY backrower and Calderdale junior Dane Windrow has signed a three and a half-year full-time deal with the club.
The 17-year-old
is a product of the Trinity scholarship, where he was picked up playing for community club Brighouse Rangers.
Trinity head coach Chris Chester said: “Dane is a physical specimen that already wouldn’t look out of place in Super League.”
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