NRL considers moving competition to Queensland in last-ditch bid to keep season alive

Ahead of an ARL Commission meeting today, Peter V’landys has confirmed that if the NRL was forced to relocate because of the coronavirus crisis then a small Queensland would be the preferred option.

Could Marley Brown Oval in Gladstone be the NRL’s answer?

• Warrior’s pain: Blair ‘on verge of tears’ over lockdown

• TIPS.COM.AU: Over $2 million in prizes to be won

Peter V’landys says moving the NRL competition to regional Queensland remains an option on the table but right now the NRL want to keep clubs based in their home regions.

The ARL Commission is due to meet at midday and V’landys confirmed this morning that if the NRL was forced to relocate because of the coronavirus crisis then the small Queensland town of Calliope, near Gladstone, would be the preferred option.

But V’landys stressed that at this stage the advice he is receiving is that the competition can keep going as it is.

“Look, whilst we can continue to play here we will do so,” V’landys said.

Watch the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership on KAYO. Every game of every round LIVE & Ad-Break Free during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

ARLC Chairman Peter V'landys. Picture: Joel Carrett/AAP

“And it is probably the most effective way to do it because we would be keeping people in their own environment.

“It is still on the table, absolutely. But it will take a lot of organisation and logistics.

“For example, what staff you take, what family members you take, how you get them there, what grounds would you use ... it is all being done behind the scenes as an option.

“As I said and I will keep stressing, nothing is off the table.

“If it can keep the game going we will go to any extreme measure.

“But at this stage the health authorities are saying while we keep these protocols tight and the players cooperate we are not a risk.

“We just have to stay calm and measured and not listen to every opinion that is in the market place because the opinions we need to listen to are the experts.

“The health authorities and the biosecurity experts, they are who we will listen to.”

Could Gladstone’s Marley Brown Oval be the NRL’s answer?

Earlier, The Courier-Mail revealed the NRL would explore relocating the entire competition to Queensland in a last-ditch bid to save the game from a $500 million wipe out and extinction.

League officials were on Sunday night locked in emergency discussions in a desperate attempt to keep the 2020 premiership alive following the AFL’s decision to suspend its season immediately amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The coronavirus crisis has been moving so quickly that the NRL could simply be delaying the inevitable and be forced to shut down as early as Monday.

But as states around Australia ramped up lockdown guidelines to slow the spread of COVID-19, the NRL was considering shifting all 16 clubs to the small Queensland town of Calliope, near Gladstone.

A vacant mining accommodation facility has offered to house more than 500 players and officials in an isolated environment to keep the competition alive.

Without a government bailout, the NRL will become insolvent within months if it is forced to stop playing, with a lack of broadcast revenue to cost the code $13 million-a-week.

The NRL has estimated abandoning the entire season will cost the game $500 million and almost certainly kill it.

The NRL has so far refused to bow to public pressure to shut down the competition and ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys confirmed moving to Queensland was an option.

“I’ve been in talks with the government and our experts today and nothing has changed so we’ll continue to play,” he told The Courier-Mail.

The Titans and Sea Eagles played a trial match at Marley Brown Oval in 2018.

“The AFL have got different circumstances. They’ve got teams throughout Australia where as we’ve only got them in three states. We can continue on without too much drama.

“Relocation is definitely an option and we are looking at that right at the moment.

“Gladstone is the one place we could go to but there are some logistic problems to overcome before we go through with it. But certainly relocating the players is on the table.

“The experts are saying we can go on at the moment, but things can change at any time.”

FOOTY TIPS! Join Australia’s best footy tipping competition for your chance to win big. Add our experts to your league and join now at TIPS.COM.AU.

The Titans clashed with the Eels on Sunday night, but will the show go on? Picture: Dave Hunt

The Victorian government Sunday announced the state was essentially entering a lockdown on non-essential services.

It is expected that NSW and Queensland governments will further ramp up lockdown guidelines this week, making it more difficult for the NRL to continue.

The Calliope scenario would take an enormous amount of work to pull off, with the region having to host eight games a week plus training commitments.

But Homeground Villages general manager Matt Jones said it was possible to make it happen.

“If the NRL need our support, we definitely have the infrastructure and capability to help keep the competition going and games being played,” he said.

“We have a 1392-room purpose-built village specifically developed to provide large scale accommodation support to the Gladstone region.

“Central Queensland is rugby league heartland. I am sure Gladstone and the region will support the NRL in any way they can.”

The NRL is expected to reassess the situation on Monday morning and provide another update on its position.