Rugby League Players Association director Dale Copley says if the NRL is willing to relocate the family of Warriors players to Sydney, non NSW-based teams will ask for the same treatment.
On Wednesday night the NRL had not yet received clearance to fly players to Australia this weekend to begin preparing for the planned May 28 NRL restart.
To meet the restart deadline in six weeks, the Warriors will need to arrive in Australia in five days and self isolate for a fortnight before beginning a mini-preseason on May 4.
The indefinite stay in Sydney raises welfare concerns, and the Warriors have sought clarification from the NRL over whether players will be able to bring families with them to Australia.
Should they be granted the ability to bring their loved ones to NSW for the duration of the new competition, Copley says players from Victoria and Queensland will be asking for the same treatment.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“I think if you look at it from a fairness point of view that’s certainly a question we’ll have to ask,” the Gold Coast winger said on Fox Sports.
“I think fundamental to all of this is the agreements that happen with the NRL and the broadcasters.
“I know money isn’t the be all and end all with the players in terms of getting paid their salaries, but all of this stuff costs money and to put us all in camps in Sydney costs money.
“To fly families over, for all the out of Sydney clubs, obviously is an expense.”
Retiring Brisbane star Darius Boyd has said he will not relocate to NSW indefinitely and be away from his family should the Queensland borders remain closed.
Copely said he is yet to get the collective opinions of his Gold Coast teammates.
“I think it’s really difficult to comment at the moment because we’re trying to make decisions where there’s not a lot of information,” he said.
“I’ve heard the comments about not wanting to relocate, but at the moment I haven’t really been to the Titans to get a temperature check on the group because I don’t know whether it’s a relocation for three weeks, three months, six months.
“We don’t know what the season looks like, there hasn’t been any figures spoken about in terms of broadcasters, and that’s not just for the players there’s other stakeholders involved there.”
The NRL will hold more meetings with broadcasters this week where it’s hoped an agreement can be met so administrators can move on to organising logistics to get the competition up and running again.
Larry1950
Guest
Not aiming at making this a political dig but from purely a health perspective, despite the players all being fit young men, surely moving a large number of people from a region with just over 1,000 cases & minimal growth in daily cases to a more populous state with 3 times the cases & relatively higher growth is a step too far at the moment. Rhetoric aside, V'landys main driver is getting money into the NRL coffers, not boosting the mental health of the footy populace. I get it, but cut the cr*p & be forthright, the NRL is teetering on bankruptcy.
Nick
Roar Guru
Memo to Peter V'Landys: Football players are not horses that can just move stables. They have families. It will be interesting to see if Jacinda Ardern will sign off on 200+ people leaving instead of 40.
Nat
Roar Guru
Fair enough. I would have thought that would have been a high consideration in any place. Families with young kids might be an issue for quarantine issues, they will have far greater restrictions on them than they would at home and it could potentially be months stuck at their hotel.