Coronavirus: NRL officially shuts down season after being rocked by one phone call

Having soldiered while the rest of the sporting world shut down, the NRL was left with little choice but to wave the white flag.

NRL CEO Todd Greenberg, right, and ARLC Chairman Peter V'landys earlier this month. Picture: AAP

The fate of rugby league took a dramatic and devastating twist on Monday afternoon. Having soldiered on for weeks while the rest of the sporting world shut down, the NRL was left with little choice but to wave the white flag when the biosecurity and pandemic expert hired by the code for advice suggested continuing to play rugby league would be folly.

Coronavirus had claimed another sporting victim. Rugby league did its dogged best but the code ran out of fight. It will be back. Just when no one knows. The NRL has refused to put a time frame on when the game will return, their sole focus in the interim protecting their clubs and ensuring the code’s survival at a time when the world is under threat.

ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys and NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg fronted a media conference late on Monday, having informed the clubs of their decision only moments earlier. V’landys revealed the commission had met twice during the day as the landscape shifted under their very feet.

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

“We think the players for all their support today and we also thank the fans. This decision hasn’t been taken lightly but ewe have a world renowned pandemic expert and they are very, very concerned at the rapid rate of this infection.

“We will always consider the health of our players before everything else and we have had no other option but to suspend the season.”

Greenberg added: “It is indeed a deeply sad day but one of the most responsible days in our game’s history. We would not have reached this point unless the conditions had shifted so dramatically and so exponentially. For now we have asked our players not to turn up to training tomorrow.

“There will be a lot of uncertainty among our players and we will try to give them as much support as we can.

“While I say it is a tough day for the game, we know it is a tough time for everyone across our community. There is much fear and uncertainty among all of us about what the future holds.

“As I sit here tonight, no-one can predict confidently what is ahead. These are difficult days and we know not having rugby league as an outlet will ensure some people are more isolated and it will disappoint many.

“But the health of our players and our staff must come first. We are in this together and we will make sure we get through this together.”

Earlier in the day, the NRL had already begun the process of cutting costs after informing their staff to take leave until May 1.

Those who didn’t have enough leave, were told to go into the red. The clubs will do likewise in the coming days. The impact will be devastating, the dollar figure frightening.

Talks have already begun with the broadcasters over mitigating the damage – the code receives $13 million for each round of matches from Foxtel and the Nine Network.

They are within their rights to withhold that money, a move that would endanger the future of several clubs.

“We have been in dialogue with our broadcast partners,” V’landys said.

“They have been great to date. We will sit down with them in the next two days to go through our options.”

The NRL was criticised in some quarters for playing on when sports around the globe had shut down, but V’landys backed the stance the game had taken.

“We have always said we would listen to expert advice – not hysteria. We have never deviated from that,” V’landys said.

“Today we got advice unfortunately that we could not proceed.”

There was anger and disappointment in clubland last night. After a brief period of unity as they dealt with COVID-19 when it first started to threaten the code, the clubs and head office were on the same page.

Much like the NRL’s stance on playing, that has shifted dramatically. V’landys retains the confidence of the clubs but Greenberg and the NRL executive are under immense pressure to convince the clubs that they are the right people to take the game forward.

For the time being, the code and its leaders were digesting a day unlike any other in the game’s history. Rugby league will survive, but it may never be the same, something V’landys acknowledged.

“Rugby league will survive in some way,” V’landys said.

“I can’t guarantee it will be in the same way it is at the moment. No one knows. No one knows how long this pandemic is going to last.

“It’s catastrophic. I don’t think we’ve ever come across a financial crisis like this. We’ve led by example by cutting our expenditure immediately and we are hoping the clubs will do the same very quickly.

“We will sit down with the clubs over the next week to look at how they’re affected. This is a financial crisis. You can’t understate it. It’s probably the biggest financial crisis the game will ever face in its history.

“But, cooperatively and united, we will deal with it and hopefully we will come out the other end.”