Rugby league stars could live together on luxury Australian island and be shipped to games in bid to finish NRL season
RUGBY LEAGUE stars could be forced into living together on a luxury Australian island in order to get the NRL season finished.
The extraordinary measures are being considered as play was suspended after round two in the sport's premier competition amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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According to the the most likely option being discussed is for players to all be based on a remote island and then be shipped to games to avoid mingling with the public and reduce chances of infection.
A suggested location is thought to be an isolated island resort near Brisbane in Queensland.
The competition would then be staged entirely at stadiums in the surrounding region - where the Brisbane Broncos, Gold Coast Titans and North Queensland Cowboys are based.
Players are desperate to get the season back underway as soon as possible with their livelihoods at stake.
The NRL and the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) agreed a pay deal last week which will see stars paid wages for April and May but they will receive NOTHING for the following five months if the competition does not resume.
It would be a blow for League aces including Brit Josh Hodgson who plays for the Canberra Raiders.
All stakeholders are desperate for the 16 NRL teams to return to the field and are exploring a range of options.
RLPA boss Clint Newton said: "We’re willing to explore all options for players, provided first and foremost the players are going to be appropriately protected and kept safe, and do what we can to ensure they are not put at any adverse risk.
"If that means that possibly we find ourselves in a situation where we would be playing in various locations then the players have obviously demonstrated in the first few weeks (of the shutdown) that they’re prepared to explore all options.
"It’s just again about how are they going to be impacted, how are they going to be protected, and is this of any greater risk than what they’ve been going through?
"And then how is the player and their family going to be properly supported through that process?"
NRL chief Todd Greenberg also weighed in on the debate - he confirmed it is definitely an option and warned cynics "it's certainly not off the table".
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One touted venue is the Tangalooma Island Resort in Brisbane and its boss David James explained how the idea could work.
He told Fox News: "We’re off the coast of Brisbane and we want to go through a process...whereby we're testing players before they come into an isolated, clean, Covid-free environment.
"From there, we do the training and then we can ship them back into and out of Brisbane to the Gold Coast and to Redcliffe to play their games and then back into the isolated area."