The federal sports minister has labelled the NRL’s planned resumption a “bit ambitious” and urged caution for all codes.
The NRL this week will forge ahead with their plans for a 28 May return, with meetings set with both major broadcasters on Tuesday. But it has come amid debate over whether the sport can get back on the field so soon.
Australia’s chief medical officer Brendan Murphy warned on Sunday he thought it was “premature” to be planning a comeback amid the coronavirus. And sports minister Richard Colbeck on Monday morning told ABC Radio that while he wanted to see leagues return as soon as possible it had to be within reason.
“I think it’s a bit ambitious to be frank,” Colbeck said. “If you consider the advice that we are still getting from people like Brendan Murphy … they’re the people who I think should be providing advice on these things.
“I think we need to be really cautious about the circumstances we are in. Yes, we are doing extremely well at the moment. But once the health authorities that are giving us advice give us the signal, we can start to relax some of those things.”
Colbeck’s comments come after Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Sunday that border restrictions would not be eased for NRL clubs.
It means the three Queensland teams will have to base themselves in NSW if they want to play this year, and would face a 14-day quarantine whenever they return home.
The NRL, meanwhile, has a letter from the NSW police commissioner Michael Fuller saying they can return behind closed doors on the proviso they provide a safe workplace.
Fuller has been given extended powers during the coronavirus and the document has a NSW Government State Emergency Operations Centre letterhead.
Players will abide by strict biosecurity measures while playing, including having their temperature checked at least three times on game day. The NRL is confident the drop in the rate of new cases will ensure it is playing a safe environment when the game returns in more than six weeks.
However, both the NSW premier and health minister have said they are uncertain whether the game can resume. In contrast, NSW deputy premier John Barilaro has strongly supported the NRL’s push to resume and even offered to personally assist in the process.