Coronavirus fallout: Newcastle Knights stand strong as players, staff stood down
It was inevitable! Coronavirus has claimed rugby league as clubs battle to stem the bleeding, standing down staff and players, with pay cuts on the cards, until the game gets back to normal.
Newcastle
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All staff and players at the Newcastle Knights have been stood down and are facing pay cuts as the coronavirus continues to claim more victims.
The heartbreaking news comes after the NRL announced yesterday it had been forced to shut down, the competition suspended indefinitely in a bid to stop the spread of the virus.
Club CEO Philip Gardner said they would talk to all players and staff individually tomorrow before further direction from the NRL on Friday.
Mr Gardner assured the club is doing everything possible to ensure everyone had a job at the end of the coronavirus saga.
But questions remain whether it will result in job losses both at the Knights and at Wests.
“Staff aren’t being terminated, they’re being stood down,” Mr Gardner said.
“Every member of staff has been stood down and we’re working through issues around it.
“Once we have certainty we can make some decisions and we can make some of those calls.
“The faster we come back, the faster we can come back to work. I’ve said to my 1200 Wests group staff you’re job is still here, we’ve got to slow that virus down.”
The Knights CEO explained every club would be undergoing a cost cutting exercise, but the reality was “everybody in the game would be taking a haircut”.
What that will look like, is yet to be revealed.
But the financial loss for the club is expected to be substantial.
“I believe we’re in the best position possible to weather the storm,” Mr Gardner said.
“When the world gives you lemons you make lemonade, so we’re going to do our best to make some great lemonade over the next few months.”
Although there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. The good news, NRL funding will continue for rugby league.
The club has been told the game will be kept afloat for the next six months.
“There are plans being made if and when the comp will continue, what that will look like, how that will work, but that will take some time to work through,” he continued.
“We’re all in this together, we’re all going to take the pain together.”
As for Knights fans and members, things are still up in the air. Unknown whether the season will come back or if they’ll be receiving a refund on memberships.
“We’re asking for patience and the response has been incredible,” Mr Gardner said.
“As we know more we can tell our fans about what is going on.
“We’re working through the myriade of questions with our fans, how will that look, what will happen. We’ll know a lot more at the end of April.
“We’ll keep everyone informed as we go along.”
Just eight days into the job, newly appointed General Manager of Football and Knights legend Danny Buderus said it’s a major blow to the industry.
But he’s confident a game like the NRL - which has battled through many challenges through the years - can get back to where it was.
“The game is in a tough position but we’ll get through it, this is another huge hurdle, but we’ll push forward, Buderus said.