NRL 2020, Coronavirus: Souths prop Mark Nicholls facing real dilemma with first baby due
The NRL’s desire for its season to get back on track in late May could leave Souths prop Mark Nicholls facing a real quandary, with his wife expecting their first child around the same time.
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South Sydney prop Mark Nicholls is bracing himself for the toughest decision of his life.
Nicholls’ first child, a girl, is due on May 20 - the day before the NRL is pushing for play to resume.
Although NRL is now weighing up whether all Sydney-based players will be allowed to stay living in their homes, Nicholls and his wife, Perrie, have discussed what to do if players are forced into a bubble-type environment to play.
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“If the NRL makes that call to put the players into isolation, my wife, Perrie, and I will have to sit down and have a conversation,” Nicholls told News Corp Australia.
“Like any big decision in life, we will go over the pros and cons and decide what is best for us as a family.
“I’ll just have to wait and see what happens, like everyone else.
“This pandemic is affecting everyone in society, so it shows that the players are also human.’’
Nicholls is also facing the reality of his mother, Ann Maree, not meeting her first grand daughter for months. She works for NSW Health and is currently based at the State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre dealing with COVID-19 cases.
She is right in the danger zone of the virus, meaning she must isolate when not at work.
“Mum made the comment that she probably won’t be able to see her first granddaughter for potentially a few months,” he said.
“I recently saw a picture online of a grandparent sitting outside a window with their child inside.
“Stuff like that really hits home about what people are going through and it is affecting everyone else.
“Mum has been flat out. She takes phone calls and make decisions on whether people go into full quarantine in hotels or go into isolation.
“She has been hearing some tragic stories, which puts everything into perspective.”
Nicholls, like all rugby league players and fans, can’t wait for the football to return.
He concedes isolation has sent him crazy at times, but he is pushing through.
“We’ve got a couple of dogs and you actually look forward to walking them,” he said.
“I recently saw a meme online that said – now I know why the dogs are so keen to go for a walk.
“But isolation hasn’t been too bad. We’ve started a Star Wars movie while we do the housework.”
Nicholls is also determined to maintain his fitness for when the football finally returns.
“I’m trying to exercise every day,” he said.
“We know we could be called back at any stage, so you don’t want to be behind the rest of the group.
“I’ve got a little gym set up in the backyard. It gives the neighbours and people walking past something to look at.
“They probably think I’m crazy, but I guess everyone is training from home these days, so it isn’t uncommon.
“At the moment that is the main motivation, along with staying inside because we have got a baby on the way.”
Hodgson’s call to arms to reboot NRL
Canberra’s star Englishman Josh Hodgson only moved into a new house on Tuesday, writes Paul Crawley.
The boxes are still stacked sky high in the garage.
He also has a wife who has no family support network in Canberra and two young kids that rely on her around the clock.
So while now is not the perfect time for Hodgson to be talking about up and leaving his young family for an extended period so he can go and play footy, he also understands that rugby league is the job that puts a roof over their heads.
And on top of that he firmly believes NRL players “have a duty” to help the thousands of families affected by job losses associated with the NRL shutdown by getting the game back up and running as soon as possible.
So while debate rages over how a proposed lockdown would impact the mental wellbeing of players if they are forced to live away from their families, Hodgson opened up about the motivation driving him and his wife, Kirby.
While there is a growing likelihood Canberra players will now be allowed to stay living at home when the competition gets back up and running in May, if they are to relocate Hodgson’s personal situation would be as difficult as most — given he came from the other side of the world to chase his rugby league dream.
So it will be especially hard for Kirby if she is left alone with their two young children, George, 3, and Ivy, 2.
“We have spoken about it,” Hodgson said.
“It would be really hard at home with my wife on her own with the kids and no real family here to help out.
But at the end of the day we both kind of said the same thing, you have got to do what you have to do to get the game going again.
“It not only pays for our living and keeps a roof over my family’s head, but there are so many people this affects.
“So many families with all the jobs that rely on the NRL, and all these people who have had to be let go.
“It is not just footy players relying on the game. So we would plough through.
“We have some good friends in Canberra who would help out if need be.
“I do think we have a duty to obviously, within reason, get the game going as quick as we can.”
Hodgson concedes it is important that the NRL and the RLPA work together and make sure player welfare is paramount, and the preference for all would be to stay in their homes.
There was a growing chance on Wednesday night that even the Raiders could ultimately remain in Canberra and travel to games on the day of the match.
But if it doesn’t work out to be the case, Hodgson says this is where the game needs to be understanding, and there will also be a responsibility on the senior players to help.
“The last thing we want to do is get the sport up and running again and then have a lot of headlines that people have been breaking curfew because they are sick of being stuck in their hotel rooms and blokes struggling here and there because they can’t see their families,” Hodgson explained.
“I haven’t got all the answers as no one else has.
“But I am sure if we work together we can come up with something.
“It is just finding the right solution.
“You can’t just do anything you can to get the game going. It has to be taking player wellbeing and everyone’s health into account.
“But this is for everyone, not just us footy players but the community.
“It has been a tough few weeks for all involved.
“But as the rugby league community normally does, when things are a little bit tough they get together and work alongside each other for the good of the game.”