NRL seeking travel exemption after Queensland closes border to Sydney

29th July, 2020

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Matt Encarnacion

29th July, 2020

The NRL is seeking reassurances from the Queensland government that NSW teams will still be exempt from their latest border closure.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Wednesday announced the state will close its borders to all residents of greater Sydney from 1am on Saturday.

The NRL has previously been exempt from restrictions on previous COVID-19 hotspots, given its bubble set up.

However, it must re-apply each time Queensland updates its measures.

The new restrictions will not affect this weekend’s matches given Cronulla play in Brisbane on Friday night, while Canberra and Newcastle’s players are not from the Sydney region.

Canterbury’s trip to the Sunshine Coast next weekend in round 13 would be the first travel under threat for the NRL.

The NRL previously had to force players back into a tight bubble on both sides of the Tweed River given the threat of a second wave.

ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys insisted that for that reason, the new measures imposed by Queensland should not be an issue.

“The latest advisory from the Queensland government doesn’t affect us at all – the competition will go ahead as per normal,” V’landys told News Corp.

“We’ve had no further conversations with the Queensland government, they have already given us a letter asking us to re-install our strict COVID protocols, which we have done.”

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