Broncos and Titans players briefed on new COVID-19 guidelines ahead of return to training
The Broncos and Titans have been briefed on rugby league’s new COVID-19 guidelines ahead of their return to training later this week.
NRL
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Queensland’s NRL players will spend Tuesday absorbing the code’s tough new biosecurity guidelines after raising several concerns during Monday’s education session.
Players questioned whether they were permitted to do such things as go to the shops to buy groceries and dropping children at school as the NRL clamps down on player movement to reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus.
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The NRL and Project Apollo have developed a 14-page Player Protocols document which lists a set of rules players must abide by to play in the upcoming season.
It includes such measures as random house visits, compulsory flu vaccinations and a twice daily online health check form.
The raft of changes for each NRL player led to some confusion over what was and wasn’t permitted, resulting in several concerns being raised during Monday’s briefings.
Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold said their two-hour discussion had provided clarity over the day-to-day issues.
“(They) can go (grocery) shopping,” Seibold said.
“You can’t expect their partner to do all the shopping and there’s going to be times that they will have to do the shopping.
“There’s going to be times where they’re going to have to drop the kids at school or pick them up.
“They’re all common sense type things.”
Visiting cafes for a coffee, however, has been banned as it is not deemed “essential”.
The Broncos are instead considering inviting a coffee van to visit Red Hill each morning to supply players with their caffeine fix.
When asked whether any of the players had any concerns about the new guidelines, Seibold said: “Not really”.
Players on the Gold Coast and in Townsville were also involved in discussions.
Titans star halfback Ash Taylor said it had been overall a positive response from the playing group surrounding the new set of guidelines.
“It was good,” Taylor said.
“We got all of the information we needed to know about to be able to return to training and to return to play.
“There’s still some protocols that we still have to follow and being very cautious around what we do.
“We want the game back up and running just like everyone else.
“To be the only sport, potentially in the world to come back, it’s a really big step for us as a game.
“If everyone buys into it and listens to the protocols, things will run smoothly.”
Originally published as Broncos and Titans players briefed on new COVID-19 guidelines ahead of return to training
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