Twelve NRL clubs will relocate to south-east Queensland for a month to keep the 2021 competition alive with CEO Andrew Abdo indicating they may remain there for the rest of the season.
After an exhaustive day of meetings in response to the surging COVID-19 outbreak in greater Sydney, club CEOs were informed on Sunday night that the nine Sydney-based outfits, the Warriors, Raiders and Knights will shift to the Sunshine State by Wednesday.
Several clubs have already prepared players and staff to be ready for such a move, with the NRL requiring Apollo bubble lists of 30 players and 11 staff members to be submitted to head office.
The NRL remains in ongoing negotiations with the Queensland government around the plans, which will be reviewed on a weekly basis.
Canberra and Newcastle will join the nine Sydney sides and Central Coast-based Warriors in relocating to dedicated hubs that provide appropriate training and living facilities for players and staff.
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Melbourne and North Queensland at this stage will remain in the Victorian capital and Townsville respectively and play out of their home bases accordingly.
Clubs will return to Sydney as soon as the Commission believes risk to the competition in NSW has subsided, with Abdo telling Fox League the hubs could be kept until the end of the regular season if needed.
“We’re locking in some certainty for the next four rounds and that buys us some time to figure out how the situation unfolds in NSW,” he said.
We hope it is only for a month, but if it needs to be longer, it will be.
Peter V’landys
“If we need to extend to the end of the season we will.
“We know that we have the capacity to absorb that and we’re going to make this as comfortable as we can for the clubs and players and the families.
“We’re going to commit to taking 40-odd officials and players up for the 12 teams and we’re also going to support getting their immediate family members there as well. That will be for a four-week period but if we need to extend until the end of the season then we will.”
The mass relocation comes after NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian’s forecast that she “will be shocked” if Sydney records less than 100 active COVID-19 cases on Monday.
A third week of Greater Sydney’s lockdown started on Sunday with news of 77 locally acquired cases.
Wednesday’s Ampol State of Origin series finale had already been moved on Saturday night from Newcastle to the Gold Coast to ensure fans could attend the match.
Players will remain under the same COVID-19 restrictions that limit movements to training, games and essential shopping for at least 14 days.
Significantly, family members will be allowed to join them as part of a staged relocation process, though they too will have to undergo two weeks of quarantine as well.
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