Unvaccinated players could be sacked under NRL proposal

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has dropped a bomb on unvaccinated NRL stars — and a new proposal could see players terminated.

Unvaccinated NRL players could be sacked under a proposal circulating behind the scenes, it has been revealed.

On the same day NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo was forced to answer questions about the league’s “soft” vaccination policy, it has emerged players could be stood down and have their contracts terminated as a result of a vaccination policy update from Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk this week.

It was announced all restrictions for stadium events in Queensland will be lifted from December 17 — or when the state reaches the 80 per cent double-dose vaccination target — except for unvaccinated members of the public.

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A key part of the policy update is that unvaccinated people cannot enter government stadium facilities — including Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast and Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville.

It creates a huge headache for the league, with Abdo confirming on Tuesday 20-24 players in the competition are still yet to be vaccinated, despite 95 per cent of the playing group being fully vaccinated.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk speaks during a press conference at the Gabba. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled.

It means the unvaccinated minority will be forced to sit out games in Queensland — unless the stadium restrictions in the state are lifted before the opening round of the 2022 season on March 10.

The Sydney Morning Heraldrevealed Tuesday night the Rugby League Players’ Association has been working in consultation with a group of club chief executives to formulate a plan that would allow clubs to sack unvaccinated players with just eight weeks’ notice.

Melbourne Storm star Nelson Asofa-Solomona could be the first player to confront the change of policy as a result of his outspoken anti-vax claims and his refusal to be fully vaccinated by November 26. Victoria has mandated that all essential workers — including professional athletes — must be fully vaccinated from the November deadline in order to keep working.

It means Asofa-Solomona could be stood down from that date.

Despite the looming showdown between the club and the star forward, Storm CEO Justin Rodski said on Tuesday he is “really confident” Asofa-Solomona will be available for pre-season training from December 7.

Dale Finucane and Nelson Asofa-Solomona of the Storm. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

Other players, including Bulldogs forward Luke Thompson, are also reportedly hesitant to get vaccinated.

The RLPA proposal reportedly also includes a policy that would see players stripped of one-week’s pay for every week the player is unavailable for training outside of the season’s first round in March. The Herald report also outlines players would be stripped of 3.33 per cent of their annual salary for each game missed as a result of their refusal to be vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus.

There is also reportedly a consideration for players and clubs to reach agreement for the player to be stood down as an inactive member of the team where the player would remain contracted to the club while receiving 25 per cent of their scheduled payments. The wages paid to inactive players would be exempt from the salary cap.

The NRL’s response has been very different to the AFL’s hard-line stance, which requires every player and staff member to be vaccinated against Covid by February 18 or risk being prevented from playing or training with their club.

Abdo said Tuesday the league was prepared for the Queensland government’s stadium announcement. He said clubs have done a “terrific job” in vaccinating their players.

“I don’t think there’s anything soft about our policy. I think what we are doing is giving people freedom of choice, no different to many global sports around the world,” he said.

“We’re allowing people the freedom of choice, which I think is important, but we’re putting health at the forefront of our policy.

“We believe in vaccination, and we want everyone to get vaccinated accordingly.”

With Alex Conrad, NCA NewsWire