ARL Commission tightens biosecurity lockdown for NRL players

The ARL Commission has tightened biosecurity protocols around all clubs outside Queensland

Peter V'landys says biosecurity measures are based on data not emotion Picture: Nikki Short

The ARL Commission has tightened biosecurity protocols around all clubs outside Queensland.

As a result, players and staff within team bubbles will not be allowed to attend venues including cafes, restaurants, pubs, beaches and golf courses to avoid community contact during the current spike in COVID-19 cases.

Restrictions on home visitors will also return. Clubs based in Queensland, including the Melbourne Storm, will remain under current protocols.

Chairman Peter V’landys said the commission had taken decisive action due to the rapidly-changing COVID-19 landscape.

“We won’t take any risks with our players and the community,” V’landys said. “All our decisions are based on the data and we’ve said from the start, if the data changes then we will be proactive and take the necessary action required.

“We are enforcing the original protocols to ensure our players are not mixing with the general community. We are doing everything we can to keep the playing group healthy during this period.

“Our experts are continuing to monitor the data. We don’t make decisions based on emotion, we make them based on data.

“We hope it’s only a short spike in the infection rate, but the commission has shown we will be agile and make the appropriate changes.”

V’landys thanked the players and the clubs for their adherence to biosecurity protocols.

“I want to congratulate our players, staff and clubs who have been brilliant throughout the process,” he said.

“The players have done the right thing and when there has been a mistake clubs have been very quick to report any breach. That’s exactly how we wanted the process to work.”

The commission has contingency plans in place that could result in clubs and players being moved en masse to Queensland should they deem it necessary.

It is understood the game’s host broadcasters have been kept informed of developments and are aware that clubs could be forced to move.

The NRL will hold a phone hook-up with the clubs later on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments amid fears that the COVID-19 spike in Victoria could be mirrored in Sydney.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has already closed the state’s borders to people living in Liverpool and Campbelltown, in Sydney’s southwest, which have been declared COVID-19 hot spots \. Numerous NRL players and their families live in those areas.