V’landys: Virus risk “one in 10,000”

Players will have a “one in 10,000 chance” of catching coronavirus if they abide by the NRL’s strict biosecurity measures, Peter V’landys says.

And the ARL Commission chairman has played down the health risk posed by the NRL’s return, claiming the community will be safer when players adopt their strict protocols.

The NRL will take the next step toward a May 28 re-start when biosecurity guidelines are explained to players at all 16 clubs on Monday.

They are expected to resume training as early as Tuesday.

V’landys said he was confident that players would adhere to the guidelines despite the poor example set by social isolation breaches of high-profile players last week.

“We need to trust our players, and have that confidence in them,” he told Nine Network’s Sports Sunday.

“I think they realise the importance, not only are they affecting themselves but they are also affecting the 485 colleagues and the game itself.

“If they do something wrong they jeopardise the whole game, so the consequences are immense.”

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

V’landys admitted it was a gamble to re-start the NRL with critics claiming it carried a health risk for players and the community.

But he believed the NRL would be protecting the community with its player protocols, citing statistics supplied by their biosecurity expert.

“I’m in the racing industry, so I bet every day. It’s a gamble,” said V’landys, who is also Racing NSW CEO.

“(But) we have undertaken one of the greatest risk analyses.

“If they do transgress, it is a one in a thousand chance in the community that they will get the virus.

“If they stay with our biosecurity measures, it is one in 10,000 chance they will get the virus.

“I am not in any way discounting the importance of the coronavirus, but there is one in 10,000 chance you could die of a car accident.

“For a player there is one in ten million chance that he will die of the coronavirus.”

V’landys added: “Our players will be safer being under our biosecurity measures than they would be if we left them in the normal community.

“So we’re actually protecting the community by having our players under our conditions.

“Just because they transgress (protocols) doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to catch the virus, because the virus infection rate at the moment is extremely low.

“They’d have to be in a very bad place for them to catch it.”

Canberra co-captain Jarrod Croker was confident the players and community would be protected by the protocols.

“We probably will, to be honest,” he told 2GB Radio.

“We are only allowed to drive to training and back. I am sure we will be safe with these new protocols.”

Meanwhile V’landys said downloading the government’s new COVIDSafe app would help flatten the curve but baulked when asked if it would be mandatory for players.

“The virus has been well contained by the government… and if everyone downloads the app the virus will be extinguished sooner rather than later,” he said.

“We are going to discuss that (downloading app) with the players (on Monday) – everything is done in consultation and agreement.”