Season of unrest for our NRL players

HOW the NRL shutdown affects the players who have gone on from the Northern Rivers.

Roosters second-rower Mitchell Aubusson fends off South Sydney's Cody Walker in an NRL game last season. Both are Northern Rivers products. Photo Joel Carrett

NORTHERN Rivers products Mitchell Aubusson, Tyrone Roberts and Cody Walker face uncertain futures while the National Rugby League season is shutdown.

Aubusson and Roberts are both from Ballina and come off contract at the Sydney Roosters and Gold Coast Titans at the end of 2020.

The NRL has until September 1 to return to competition or the season will be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Aubusson, 32, has played 13 seasons at the Roosters and is just seven games short of reaching the 300-game milestone.

He is the third most-capped player in the Roosters 112-year history and is only behind club legends Luke Ricketson (301 games) and Anthony Minichiello (302 games).

He signed a one-year contract extension to play in 2020 and has nothing locked in beyond this year.

The Roosters are also chasing a third straight premiership with Aubusson injured early in the grand final win against Canberra last year.

He spent the offseason overcoming the knee injury, playing the first two rounds of the competition this year before the season was suspended.

Meanwhile, the form Roberts showed on the Gold Coast last year should be enough to earn himself a new contract at the Titans.

Roberts, 28, was a shining light in 2019 and stepped up in the absence of highly paid halfback Ash Taylor who didn’t finish the season.

Another Ballina junior, Brian Kelly, is also at the Titans and is already contracted for next season.

Former Grafton Ghosts premiership-winning fullback Anthony Don has been at the Titans since 2013.

He does not have a contract beyond this season and could be moved on after coming in and out of the starting team in recent years.

Elsewhere, Casino Cougars junior Cody Walker will look to recapture the form which saw him play the opening game of the State of Origin series for NSW last year.

He is already settled at club level and signed a new contract with South Sydney last year which will keep him there until the end of 2022.

At 30, he is running out of time for an Origin recall and would need to fire early when play resumes.

The State of Origin series is still up in the air and could be played as late as December.

Ballina junior Nick Meaney has another year to run on his contract at Canterbury after this season while Mullumbimby’s Jack Gosiewski will be at Manly until the end of next year.