A final call is yet to be made but the door is closing on the Illawarra Rugby League season following a four-week extension of the Greater Sydney COVID lockdown.
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Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed on Wednesday that Greater Sydney - including Wollongong and Shellharbour - will remain in lockdown until August 27.
The IDRL had planned to crown its premiers on the first weekend in September, with the first grade competition this season part of the NSW Rugby League's Presidents Cup.
The state competition was set see the Illawarra, Newcastle and Ron Massey Cup premiers and a fourth 'wildcard' team play semi-finals on September 18-19, with the grand final a week later.
That now appears highly unlikely, with the NSWRL expected to make a call on the future of its competitions on Thursday.
The IDRL will await that call before deciding to abandon the season or whether to hold condensed finals series' beyond its traditional September finish dates.
"We're guided by the public health orders so it's a fluid situation and we need to adapt, but we won't be closing the door on it until all avenues and scenarios are exhausted," IDRL general manager Chris Bannerman said.
"NSW [Rugby League] have indicated its intent is to get back on the field when it's safe to do so and when the government indicates that we can. That's what we'e planning for.
"If that means playing modified finals series' to get competitions to a grand final then that's something we'll certainly look at. There'll be some restrictions about how far we can push it back with summer sports and other factors, but it's the board's commitment to get football on and finish as many competitions as we can with finals a grand final.
"We'll exhaust all options to make that happen."
Even if lockdown is lifted on August 27 it's unlikely football would immediately resume, with the governing body likely to mandate at least two weeks training ahead of any resumption.
"Last year the NSWRL mandated a fortnight [lead-in] because we need to be mindful of player welfare," Bannerman said.
"If people haven't been able to train properly for eight-nine weeks or more we're probably looking at more than a week [to prepare], certainly for open age football."