NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has given the strongest indication yet that the state government will work hand in glove with the NRL so it can restart its season as soon as possible.
As the NRL’s newly formed innovation committee prepares for a critical meeting on Thursday about contingency plans to reboot the premiership, Mr Barilaro boldly claimed rugby league can “start the process of recovery” for the nation.
He has already spoken to Premier Gladys Berejiklian about working closely with ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys and club chief executives about restarting play, which stopped last month because of the COVID-19 crisis.
“The NRL is the tonic we need to get through this virus,” he told Channel Nine’s Chris O’Keefe. “It’s easy to say why we can’t do things. We’ll take advice from the health experts, but the reality is that we’ve seen in racing, and in other sectors like construction, that cases have come down …
“For me, the NRL is an opportunity as a state and nation to start the process of recovery. I can assure you that we want to work with the NRL. Government has a role here. I’ve had a conversation with the Premier that if the NRL can put forward its measures, its protocols, we will work with them to get through this season.”
Mr V’landys and the commission will, on Thursday, consider a range of recommendations from the innovation committee, nicknamed Project Apollo, which was formed to come up with ways to get the season started again.
NSW deputy premier John Barilaro wants to see the NRL return as soon as possible.Credit: Chris Lane.
One of them includes locking the entire code down in a “bubble” in Western Sydney, most likely at Sydney Olympic Park.
As reported by the Herald earlier this month, sweeping public health orders signed by NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard on March 30 gave the NRL an avenue to keep playing because the new restrictions did not “prevent the conduct of events (such as sporting or racing events)”.
The NRL had already grounded its competition by then, having decided on March 23 to indefinitely stop playing on the advice of its pandemic expert who feared a “player could die” because of the spike in people in NSW testing positive to COVID-19.
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro says the NRL is the tonic the country needs.Credit: Kate Geraghty
All three forms of racing, however, have continued in Australia under strict and unprecedented quarantine measures. Mr V’landys is also the chief executive of Racing NSW.
“What we’re seeing in racing is a sport continue because of the protocols and measures in place,” Mr Barilaro said. “It’s allowed that sport to continue. Applying the same sort of approach to the NRL, that’s why I have confidence in Peter V’landys that he can do this.”
The NRL, however, is already facing a backlash from some quarters as it seeks exemptions to start playing again.
“It’s more than footy,” Mr Barilaro said. “It’s an economic uplift for a range of industries but it’s more important to the mental well-being and health of society. The NRL is so important to the psyche of Australians at a time when we are all doing it tough in self-isolation. We love the game, it’s tribal, it brings the best out of Australians.
“Right now, if there’s a code that could help us through this period, it is the NRL. That’s what it is important for all of us to come together and find a way to get the game back onto the park.”