The Newcastle Knights’ chances of running onto the NRLW paddock remain high after Graham Annesley confirmed the Telstra Women’s Premiership would “absolutely” take place in 2021.
And, the NRL head of football hopes further clarity will be offered to clubs this week.
The NRL recently revealed the elite competition was set to expand to a six-team and seven-week format, with a start date in line with round 23 of the men’s NRL Telstra Premiership.
Players were due to begin pre-season training but the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney caused a significant delay across the game.
The NRL met with leading players, clubs and the RLPA last Thursday to discuss the immediate future of staging the fourth instalment with Annesley adamant the comp would be completed this year.
“The one thing I can say is we’re absolutely committed to the NRLW going ahead this year,” he said.
“There are no suggestions of cancelling it.
“We’re absolutely committed to it and maintaining the integrity of the competition.
“We are not going to turn it into a nines comp or play it across one weekend.
“We want to make sure we’ve got a competition that is largely what we had planned for this year, take into consideration the views and concerns for players, and make it exciting for the broadcast partners.”
A delayed start to the comp or condensed season with short turnarounds are among the options the NRL is considering before putting plans forward to the ARL Commission for final approval.
Relocating players or placing them into a bubble are also possibilities but unlikely given most of them are part-time athletes.
“We do have to overcome some significant hurdles,” Annesley said.
“Bubbles and relocation are definitely an option.
“They’re a difficult option and we must plan it carefully to make sure we don’t get teams broken up by players who can relocate and who can’t.
“In many cases, players have commitments to employers and family commitments that make it very difficult for them to go into quarantine or bubble-like situations similar to NRL players at the moment.
“We have other options in front of us we’re seeking feedback on in terms of a [possible] delay to the NRLW competition.
“I don’t think anything is off the table.
“If anything is condensed, it might just be shorter turnarounds.
“All of this information has to come back and go to the Commission.
“They all have pros and cons. We hope to have some better guidance over the course of this week.”
NRLW clubs not impacted by the lockdown restrictions, such as Newcastle, Brisbane and Gold Coast, have respectfully not begun training sessions as the NRL works with all parties involved.
- Alicia Newton (NRLW chief reporter)
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