A phone hook-up brought the worst of new to the NRL’s clubs

Rugby league clubs were hurting on Monday night. Some were staring into the abyss.

NRL CEO Todd Greenberg, left, and ARLC Chairman Peter V'landys were forced to shut down the competition

Rugby league clubs were hurting on Monday night. Some were staring into the abyss, uncertain about what the future held. In a telephone hook-up with the NRL that lasted barely 20 minutes, they were told that the competition had been suspended and they should consider their next step.

Budgets will be slashed and jobs will be lost. There was anger in the exchanges. According to those involved in the hook-up, their target was the NRL executive.

Melbourne Storm chair Bart Campbell and Sydney Roosters supremo Nick Politis, two of the most respected figures in the game, were among the most vocal.

They wanted answers. They walked away unsatisfied. Now is not the time for recriminations but they will come. For the moment, survival is the only thought.

A day that began with rugby league determined to soldier on ended with clubs and the game itself under threat like never before.

ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys had gone to bed on Sunday night comfortable that the game could continue on the advice of the pandemic and biosecurity expert brought in to provide advice on the way forward.

“It was good as gold,” V’landys told The Australian.

“We were alarmed at how it changed in 24 hours.”

That change hit on Monday afternoon when the expert, whose name has been withheld by the game, called the NRL’s chief medical officer Paul Bloomfield.

She told Bloomfield that the landscape had changed dramatically, in part because of the cruise ship that recently boarded in Sydney and allowed a number of infected passengers to walk around the city.

Bloomfield quickly informed NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg, who arranged further talks between his executive team and the expert. She was clear. The game needed to stop. Greenberg called V’landys who in turn called an urgent meeting of the ARL Commission.

They had no choice. Rugby league was put on ice for the foreseeable future, having fought valiantly but ultimately to little avail.

V’landys quickly informed the game’s broadcast partners Foxtel and the Nine Network before the phone hook-up was held with the 16 clubs. By Monday night they were in shock at a turn of events that now threatens their existence. V’landys’ priority is to ensure their survival but he can give no guarantees. No one can in the current environment.

“My focus is on making every club survive,” V’landys told The Australian.

That process will be with a brutal meeting on Tuesday morning where nothing will be out of bounds. The NRL will continue to explore its options, including the prospect of relocating teams to one place or placing them in geographic conferences.

“That was on the table today but that had a dramatic turn as well with Queensland closing their borders,” V’landys said. “It didn’t give us time to do all the logistics. Another reason we made the decision today was for the Warriors. They could return today. They possibly couldn’t tomorrow.”

Players have been told to stay home but they face some hard truths in coming days. Pay cuts are on the table for everyone, NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg conceding even for him.

Once the shock gives way, reality will sink in. Rugby league is on its knees but the code has always found a way back to its feet.

It is probably the biggest financial challenge the game will face in their history,” V’landys said. “We’re ready for the worst and we have to look at dealing with the worst. Hopefully we will come out the other end.”