Five-ring circus ends as Olympics and NRL roll over

The nation’s sporting fields have fallen silent as a last-ditch attempt to ­resist the global contagion failed.

Cate and Bronte Campbell at Dee Why in Sydney on Monday. Picture: Phil Hillyard

The nation’s sporting fields have fallen silent, locked and shuttered, as a last-ditch attempt to ­resist the global contagion failed.

Just 24 hours after the AFL shut down its season in the face of the coronavirus outbreak, after only one round of matches in empty stadiums, the NRL did the same.

And within weeks, perhaps even days, the biggest domino of them all will fall. The 2020 ­Olympic Games, scheduled for Tokyo in July and August, will ­­al­most certainly be postponed until next year.

Having soldiered on for two weeks while the rest of the sporting world shut down, ARL ­Commission chairman Peter ­V’landys waved the white flag on Monday evening. In the face of mounting criticism, the NRL had battled through two rounds without crowds.

Mr V’landys said rugby league had been left with little choice.

“As we said from the outset, the paramount consideration in our decision-making process has always been the safety and health of our players,” Mr V’landys said.

“Unfortunately that has taken a dramatic turn today. Our pandemic and biosecurity expert has said due to the rapid rate of infection we can no longer guarantee the safety of our players to continue to play.

“Accordingly, we are suspending the season. We aren’t going to put a time period to the suspension. All the options are still on the table.”

That just left the A-League — and soon afterwards that was gone as well.

A conference call of club owners and senior Football Federation Australia staff late on Monday took the decision to halt the competition for the time being.

Earlier, the AOC executive board “unanimously agreed” an Australian team could not be assembled for Tokyo.

Olympians Bronte and Cate Campbell are two of more than 400 athletes who have been told to aim for a Games in July 2021.

“I haven’t had a straightforward career by any stretch of the imagination so every setback that I’ve ever encountered, that can either be the end or you can focus on the next step to get around that obstacle,” Cate said.