NRL CEO Andrew Abdo says players will not be mandated to have a COVID-19 vaccine but warned unvaccinated players would be subject to more stringent protocols.
On the same day the AFL mandated its players to be vaccinated by mid-February, Abdo took a slightly different approach.
The NRL has been grappling with mandatory vaccinations since the resumption of the 2020 season when several high-profile players including Bryce Cartwright, Josh Papalii and Joseph Tapine expressed reluctance to receive the flu shot.
Despite many businesses and rival codes mandating employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, Abdo said the NRL would leave it up to the players.
“Clearly we need to make sure we have continuity to the competition, and we are creating a safe working environment,” he told Channel 7.
“We are busy working on the protocols for the players who are vaccinated and the players that are not vaccinated. Hopefully we are talking about a very small group of players.
“They will have, I’d imagine, some pretty rigorous requirements around what they will be able to do in order to train and play.
“Of course this might be taken out of our hands by health orders or by airlines, so there will be repercussions for those that don’t choose to be vaccinated but it’s not our approach as a governing body to mandate it.
“Between now and the end of the off-season we will have a very clear set of guidelines for how the clubs and players can get back to training safely for those who are vaccinated and those who aren’t yet vaccinated.”
Abdo claimed some clubs had close to 90 per cent of players and staff vaccinated with the governing body’s own staff up to 98 per cent.
Meanwhile, Abdo said the potential introduction of an 18th team could see the NRL introduce a conference system.
The Redcliffe-based Dolphins, who unveiled Wayne Bennett as their coach on Thursday, will become the 17th NRL franchise in the 2023 season.
While he refused to speculate when and where the 18th club would come from, Abdo said the increase in teams would force the Australian Rugby League Commission to examine a conferencing system.
“You’ve got to begin with the end goal in mind,” he said. “An 18th team gives us another game each round and the even number of teams allows for different configurations.
“We should look at the virtues and the pros and cons of a conference model. We suffer from a draw that is not symmetrical.
“Not every team is playing the other team home and away.
“The advantage of a conference model – and it doesn’t have to be geographical – is you’re able to provide equity in the draw which provides fans with clarity over who they’ll play each season.
“You can focus in on local rivalries and a competition within a competition.”
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Enjoy those boosters brother,. you're in for a lot of them....
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Your delay in response caused no issue, appreciate your politeness. You stun me, so much talking of 'ACTUAL' science yet ignoring it. You question my civic awareness.. how so? Please alert me to the 'science' that says the 'vaccines' are 100% effective and the only method of dealing with this? Check the facts, vaccinated people pass the Covid virus as well, and die from the virus. Have you missed that reality?? So the actual best way to adhere to your 'civic duty' is an antigen test. More than happy to comply, where are they set up? And it is sad that you align with ha.te ideology, "you didn't agree with my ideals so you shouldn't get any medical care". Nice chap you are. What do you say to those thousands who are suffering from adverse reactions? Or you probably don't care. You take care.
Dandragon
Roar Rookie
I forgot to add that I can’t wait to get my booster! The microchips “they” stuck in my arms in the first & seconds doses are getting bored with one another. And I have a vax passport & am very much looking forward to my overseas hol in Jan. …still waiting for your doom & gloom to set in. Perhaps, just perhaps, you’ve been duped by utterly insane, completely uneducated conspiracy theorists. The very same US conspiracists, a number of whom have reportedly died from COVID and who have shaped your unforgivable, irresponsible attitude towards your own community. Civic responsibility! It should extend beyond your own ill informed insecure notions of self-importance.
Dandragon
Roar Rookie
Apologies for my belated reply. Your entire response actively, wilfully, gloriously ignores one thing; ACTUAL science. And not some random rubbish you manage to find & isolate on the net, with zero peer reviewed evidence. Bugger the rest of your pointlessly overly verbose garbage which I gave up on for your personal freedoms - through which you actively deny your fellow citizens their rights in your self-importance. Tell me: another Sky “news” devotee? And, while you actively, deliberately, mindfully choose to reject ACTUAL science, can you please take your Medicare card out right now & burn it? That would make me feel better. How can you possibly trust your GP? Seriously, why should we - the vast majority of us who respect science & those who are highly esteemed in this field - fund your challenged existence when you inevitably contract this miserable disease? Fund it yourself - having wilfully & ignorantly every single fully state funded initiative to keep you safe. If you were that convinced by your conspiracy garbage, you would do as I asked because you simply can’t trust anyone, can you? But you won’t. What a surprise. You trust ACTUAL science when it suits you.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
Same same Kent. This is why I have zero time or respect for Woke and all it's Marxist origins. It's telling us we are evil. When in actual fact ,forcing your views on anyone else is the true evil. My views always have and always will be personal ,unless asked as this article has done.
clipper
Roar Rookie
Why 'Supreme courts aside' - it's a very important arbiter of legality. Don't know if decency is a good argument - I would argue the other way around - it would be decent if the person next to you in a supermarket, restaurant or gym was vaccinated so your risk was lower. That's why is decent that a smoker (nowadays) can't smoke next to you in enclosed spaces.
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
well as a white heterosexual male I am deemed the most entitled person to ever walk the face of the earth. If i say anything I am deemed a sexist, racist, misogynist, Islamophobe, homophobe. And yet I treat people better than many religious types as i try to treat everyone with respect no matter their race, religion, wealth, social standing.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
I could not agree more. Religion, education ,media has been hijacked along with politics. If you have a view in anything these days your tagged extreme left or right and could even lose your job. I'm a retired blue collar worker who doesn't vote anymore. No confidence in politicians at all. Confused about covid? Blame the media ,both types, and our education system, if adults are confused on day to day issues, imagine our kids at school being told, everything you parents thought you is not quiet correct. Etc etc!
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
looks like she's already started - https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2021-clubs-want-to-sack-unvaccinated-players-covid-vaccinations-andrew-abdo-clint-newton/news-story/720c92b693bbd5d224a9be78a85af64d
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
Religion is supposed to be about people being nice to each other, but frankly, you don't see a lot of that. You know, what you do see is people using the Good Book to say that they're morally superior. you see people building Churches / Halls and TV stations to bilk Grandma out of her pension cheques, all in the name of God. And how about all those God-fearing people who are killing other God-fearing people because they don't fear God in the same way!?
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
You have an unusual interpretation of mandate. No, they don't have to and as a Commonwealth citizen they don't have to to keep their job. You weren't coerced, that's fine. But it's illegal and negates the mandate if you apply a 'no jab no job' edict. I'm betting even though vaxxed you still have to pass antigen or temperature check to enter your site?
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Didn't know the NSW numbers. I've not questioned the value in vaccinations, nor a multiple approach so I agree with you. My issue is the forced mandate which - Supreme Courts aside, has issues of legality and decency.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
My energy is engaged in other things and I tried to answer your question seriously. My off-the-cuff comments require little energy or forethought. My energy is usually taxed by reading most of your chicken without it’s head on comments, mushi. :laughing:
mushi
Roar Guru
Are you telling me you actually put energy into these insipid posts? It's even worse than I thought.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Oh mushi... I am trying to find the energy to respond. I had a long and detailed reply typed up on my phone and lost it before I could submit it. Usually I save longer posts until I know they are up. This time I didn't. FTS (Fat Thumb Syndrome). Give me some time. I will try to recreate what I lost at some point.
clipper
Roar Rookie
But NSW, with higher vaccination rates, has seen cases fall significantly. This is why it's important to get as many vaccinated as possible. It's not the only answer to the spread, but a major one.
mushi
Roar Guru
The NFL’s system is a historic one, like how many clubs are in Sydney for the NRL, and is often maligned in the US for creating unequal paths to the playoffs. Whenever there’s a 9-7 (now 9-8 I suppose) team limping in as division “champions” whilst 10 and 11 win teams with harder schedules watch on everyone looks around wondering “hey, why do we have this rubbish system?” It’s just the process for changing it is too difficult and risky to be worth the pay off. The flat out worst part of the NFL is their season structure.
mushi
Roar Guru
Can you step me through how you see the restraint of a draft, and the reasons behind it, being remotely similar to the restraint of a vaccination? My super high level quick read years back of the Adamson v NSWRL case was that the league went after the parity angle being necessary for the competition to thrive but the because they'd promoted the same reasons for the additional restraint of the salary cap, whilst an expanding league no less, it wasn't seen as being reasonably required. Tough to see any of that applying here, I'd have thought the first test case was other mandatory vax decisions. As the draft was definitely an extension of restraint to the ordinary worker. If those get turned over you get into the "needed for league", given they've acquiesced to have concussion taken away from player decision there's some scope here. You'd think professional sporting teams, on a performance basis, would be arguing to have it as mandatory given players already accept the managed risks of compulsory training etc in order to be maximise performance in the eye of the coaching staff.
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
“Religion is no excuse for hurting others” – don’t they preach “Goodwill to my fellow man” or does it really mean “Goodwill to my fellow man as long as they are the same race, religion and sexual orientation as me?”
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
https://ifunny.co/video/jim-jefferies-everyone-should-be-allowed-to-drive-their-car-RZSPxa9u7