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NRL to meet Australia’s top medico

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16th March, 2020
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The NRL will sit down with the nation’s chief medical officer on Tuesday morning as the league ramps up its efforts to ward off the threat of the coronavirus.

The meeting with professor Brendan Murphy comes a day after ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys expressed confidence in the game’s immediate future.

“We’ve got some biosecurity advice today (Monday) which has made me a little bit more confident moving forward,” V’landys said on NRL 360 on Monday.

“We’re meeting with the chief medical officer (Tuesday) morning to get further advice. We want to make these decisions with the best available information.”

NRL officials will also discuss preventative measures with health minister Greg Hunt, who has previously predicted the virus outbreak to last six months.

But, as it stands, the league remains determined to push ahead with their season despite a number of sporting codes suspending their competitions.

V’landys insisted the governing body would not be rushed into making the same call, which would have a disastrous financial implications.

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“We want to have that lever in our armoury to suspend the season when we have to. It’s a bit premature to do it on the available advice that we have now,” he said.

In a sign of its attempt to keep their players healthy, the league has organised chartered flights for teams travelling interstate for their games this weekend.

V’landys also said players needed to reduce their social activity.

“We’ll minimise the risk as much as possible,” he said.

“But at the end of it, it’ll be the player. As long as the player is educated and reduces the social activity… they’re not going to the pub, not going to a restaurant, staying at home, etc., we’ll be in a good position.”

© AAP

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