NSWRL pencil in July date for return to grassroots footy

ARL Commissioner Wayne Pearce confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the government has green-lighted its May 28 return date, with clubs to resume training from May 4.

Pearce said the competition would now "definitely" resume on that date, with a revamped draw, and confirmed points from the opening two rounds will carry over.

"What we achieved today was a lot more clarity around the medical process and what those protocols are," Pearce said.

"We clarified that May 28 is a definite and also confirmed that May 4 is the resumption date for training. What was also confirmed that the competition points that had been earned in the first two rounds will carry over to the extended competition.

"We hope that we'll be in a position, sooner rather than later, to announce what the competition structure looks like and what the end date of the competition will be."

The NSWRL had initially postponed all football until at least the end of May amid the COVID-19 outbreak, while also cancelling its junior rep competitions.

The board has since consulted with other major winter sports bodies to put in place a tentative return date of July 18, though that date will be reviewed again at the beginning of June.

Trodden said today's decision took into consideration the NSW Public Health Order, currently preventing sport from being conducted, that and expires at midnight on June 29.

"Accordingly, the earliest possible return date is 30 June 2020, unless the NSW Government decides to lift the Public Health order earlier," NSWRL chief executive Dave Trodden said.

"Most winter sports favour working towards a return date of 18 July 2020, at the end of the next school holiday period, with a return to training on 1 July 2020, subject to the status of the public health in the interim.

"The Board and Management of NSWRL have been continuing to closely monitor developments with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to strictly follow the government advice so that we will only return to playing footy when it is deemed safe to do so.

"The NSWRL and everyone in our rugby league community need to be responsive to the continual changes to the government advice around risks to public health for the broader community, and if it becomes apparent that a July start date is not feasible, we will adjust and reassess."

It will allow junior football to resume while the Ron Massey Cup, Sydney Shield and Harvey Norman Women's Premiership can all get back underway.

It would also open the door for fellow major competitions, including the Illawarra Rugby League and Newcastle Rugby League to get underway.

Barring health restrictions there are few barriers to junior competitions getting up and running but financial considerations will come into play for senior competitions, including when restrictions on pubs and clubs are lifted.

Any concrete return date for senior competitions would also need to provide adequate preparation time to meet physical demands, likely to be at least a month.