NRL edging closer to Queensland relocation as league head towards resumption
The NRL has reached out to Queensland authorities in the surest sign yet the competition will relocate to the Sunshine State to resume the competition.
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Update: The NRL innovation team has contacted Queensland authorities to discuss a relocation plan in the strongest sign yet the Project Apollo program is looking to relaunch the premiership in the Sunshine State.
News Corp can reveal the NRL innovation committee has been in talks with Queensland officials in recent days to thrash out a number of contingencies in a bid to resume the competition on June or July 1.
The committee _ which meets Thursday _ sounded out key Queensland experts to canvass a variety of options, including a 15-round NRL season.
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The parties also discussed which grounds would be available for use as well as accommodation options for all 16 teams or only eight sides as part of a two-conference model.
The high-powered negotiations are evidence the NRL is ready to seek Queensland’s help to solve their biggest headache _ how to revive the 2020 premiership amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The revelation comes as Suncorp Stadium boss Alan Graham outlined a detailed proposal, sent to the ARL Commission, that would see three Queensland stadiums host NRL clubs for the rest of the season.
The NRL innovation panel is exploring several options, including quarantining the entire competition near ANZ Stadium in western Sydney as they weigh up whether to resume the league in two conferences.
But there is a view Queensland could be a safer haven for non-Sydney teams such as the Broncos, Cowboys, Titans and Newcastle.
Queensland’s infection rate is lower than that of NSW and health experts have told the NRL the warmer northern climate offers greater protection against COVID-19 for the code’s 480 contracted players.
That prompted the NRL innovation committee to reach out to Queensland authorities over the weekend to help fast-track their Project Apollo kick-off objectives.
ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys confirmed Queensland is a key plank in the code’s relaunch plan and could host a multitude of games in the coming winter months.
“Queensland is absolutely an option for us,” he said. “All of that will be discussed on Thursday (when the innovation committee meets again).
“We’ll be looking at all the scenarios and I have every confidence in Wayne Pearce and the committee to come up with the best possible recommendation.
“Queensland is a safe place. The infections are dropping in NSW and Queensland at a rapid rate and we are eight weeks away from possibly kicking off.
“If this downward trend continues, we won’t have a problem.”
The NRL has a number of Queensland options in which to keep stars quarantined in a coronavirus-free ‘bubble’.
Townsville, Calliope near Gladstone and Tangalooma Island Resort have all tabled accommodation proposals to V’landys.
Another robust plan involves Suncorp Stadium, with Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga endorsing a strategy for three Queensland venues to host eight weekly games on a rotational basis.
“We’ve drawn up a proposal and Mal has presented that to the NRL,” said Graham, the Suncorp Stadium CEO.
“We would look to run the NRL in south-east Queensland with a series of Magic Rounds.
“We would have at least three stadiums and they are Suncorp, Cbus Super Stadium and Redcliffe (Dolphin Stadium). Each week you rotate the venue for games, so that way you give each playing surface three weeks to recover.
“The NRL has received our proposal and they will go through the biodiversity and medical aspects this week, so we’re waiting to see what happens.
Originally published as NRL edging closer to Queensland relocation as league head towards resumption