NRL bubble costly for Cutters with Cowboys locked out of Mackay

Cutters set to rely on the depth of the whole squad after the NRL locks all teams down in league-wide bubbles across the country.

The Cutters defeated the Capras 20-18 to secure their second win of the season. Picture: Brendan Kirkman

The Cutters will have to rely on homegrown talent to carry the side through the rest of the season as the NRL bubble locks their Cowboys contingent out of Mackay.

The league introduced the bubbles to ensure the season could continue, with the result leaving sides such as Mackay short on NRL-level talent.

Cutters coach Michael Crawley said he would be surprised to get players like Daejarn Asi or Ben Condon back in the next month of football.

“I can’t see the NRL letting anyone out of the bubbles with the way it is in New South Wales, every club will be affected in some way,” he said.

“The danger is that they could come out and play for us and there’s a close contact then they’ll put the NRL in jeopardy and they won’t do that.”

The Cutters celebrated their first home win of the season over the Capras at the weekend, with the 20-18 result snapping an eight-match losing streak.

Crawley said the triumph was reward for the side’s efforts this season.

“A lot of hard work goes in each week and they haven’t been getting the opportunities to celebrate,” he said.

“I’m glad that we were able to enjoy that, it’ll give us a boost in confidence for sure, but also it’s great to celebrate with the fans who hadn’t seen a competition win at home this season.

“The guys who came in with the Cowboys out did a really good job, it’s a difficult job to fill in those holes and we only had one fit player not get a game this week, so our depth was definitely tested but we held on.”