Revealed: NRL’s biosecurity bubble poised to burst as plans reveal increase to squad numbers
Freedom always comes at a price with Mad Monday end-of-year celebrations for NRL players scrapped, but ‘normal’ life will resume for players just days after their team exits competition. This is how it works.
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The NRL’s biosecurity bubble will finally burst for long-suffering players.
Players have been told they will be free to live a “normal” life three days after their team is bundled out of the competition.
For half of the NRL freedom is just three matches away as the season comes to a halt.
The eight teams who qualify for the finals will have to remain bound by the bubble until three days after their team is bundled out of the competition.
Clubs will have up to three days to perform all their exit medicals, player interviews and players will need to clear out their belongings before formally exiting the bubble.
During the off-season they may still be asked to lodge their whereabouts on an online application as they do throughout the season.
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Government restrictions also brings an end to any Mad Monday end of year celebrations and traditional end of season presentation nights.
Players will be bound by government regulations, meaning they will be unable to travel interstate or overseas unless they receive an exemption.
There is still uncertainty surrounding how many players clubs can contract for next year and beyond.
A host of players including the likes of Jordan Rapana, Kieran Foran, Aiden Tolman, Nathan Peats, Kevin Proctor, Danny Levi, James Tamou and Benji Marshall are yet to decide their futures with clubs still unsure how many players they can contract.
Clubs have been working conservatively on being able to sign just 26 players for next season but that number is now expected to remain at 30 with two to four development players. Discussions around slicing the salary cap are continuing with the RLPA with the cap being cut anywhere between 5 to 10 per cent. The football cap is also expected to be slashed by $1.2 million per club but that figure is yet to be decided.
NSW and Queensland will pick their 27-man squads on October 19, just six days before the NRL Grand Final.
The players who are not involved in the Grand Final will need to re-enter a biosecurity bubble and will be restricted by it for a month.
It has yet to be decided just what they will need to do to enter the clean zone again. The $30,000 players have been paid per Origin game could be slashed by 50 per cent.
Players who play in the grand final and are picked for Origin will be unable to exit the bubble for another three months.
Clubs are expecting to give players an extra week of leave meaning they will have seven weeks off before pre-season training resumes for those clubs which did not make the finals on November 16.
It will be the first time new coaches such as Nathan Brown (Warriors), Trent Barrett (Bulldogs), Anthony Griffin (Dragons) and Todd Payten (Cowboys) get their hands on their players.
Players are expected to be COVID-tested before they resume training and may need to fill out a statutory declaration regarding their whereabouts during the holiday period.
WE NEED $25M TO SURVIVE
By Dean Ritchie
Cash-strapped clubs fearing for their futures through COVID setbacks will pressure the NRL for an additional $25 million next year for “survival, prosperity and to continue making the NRL an elite competition”.
The Daily Telegraph understands a special club chief executive committee has been formed — including South Sydney’s Blake Solly, Penrith’s Brian Fletcher, Brisbane’s Paul White, Sydney Roosters’ Joe Kelly and Melbourne’s Dave Donaghy — to discuss finances and distribution with the NRL for the next three years.
Reeling financially from COVID, each club will seek an extra $1.5m to ensure their short-term existence.
One official said another cash-crippling season in 2021 could ruin clubs.
Clubs want a $3 million payment gap between the NRL’s annual $13 million grant to clubs and the $10 million to cover each club’s salary cap increased to $4.5 million.
That represents another $24 million among the 16 clubs.
This, clubs say, will cover further forecast losses for next season under a “prepare for the worst, hope for the best” scenario.
There are genuine fears clubs will again suffer financially next season through reduced crowds, merchandise, membership and gate takings.
Despite leading the NRL competition table, Penrith lost $4 million this year through gate receipts and sponsorship.
One chief executive said: “The $24 million would provide clubs with the financial security to get through the season, deal with any changes in Government or NRL protocols and restrictions, while continuing to deliver the most exciting competition we can for supporters, members, broadcasters and sponsors.
“In essence, the clubs are saying that 2021 is probably going to look very much like 2020 and we will need the additional level of distribution from the NRL to guarantee the survival and prosperity of all 16 clubs.
“On a worst case, we are likely to require the proposed NRL funding margin — the gap between player payments and the NRL distribution to clubs — be improved from $3 million to $4.5 million. Clubs have already agreed to a big decrease in the football department cap and the improved NRL deal will help all 16 clubs survive.”
Clubs believe the NRL can further slice their costs to help find and fund the $24 million.
NRL management has already claimed it will slash $50 million from its yearly expenditure. That said, clubs state the NRL still spent around $225 million in 2019 on costs and game development.
All clubs have been registering their financial struggles to each other to show the need for extra money.
One NRL club chief executive: “We will need the money. Without the 16 clubs, there is no game. It is $24 million but they have to make it happen. They might be saving $50 million but it still means they are spending $170 million.”
This year’s salary cap was cut to around $8.5 million through reduced player payments.
The NRL provided clubs with some extra funding this season for loss of revenue and extra costs resulting from COVID. While grateful, clubs believe they need a similar significant top-up to continue making the NRL an elite competition.”
Dialogue between the NRL and the clubs will continue. Clubs privately claim there is “uncertainty in the wider economy.”
Just last week, new NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo vowed to trim “somewhere in the region of $40 to $50 million” from the NRL operational costs.
“Of course it‘s emotional and difficult to make (cost cutting) decisions around people and how we but we have a job to do and we have to think about interests long-term and the long-term sustainability of the game and put that above personal or short-term decisions,” Abdo said.