Has GRR been cancelled this year?

[Kiap]

The AFL is looking at some kind of conference system. McGowan has welcomed the idea of one "bubble" being based in WA. But with the proviso that ES teams have to quarantine for 2 weeks.

Yep.


Still, that 2 weeks quarantine could be deal breaker for Force home games in a 5 or 6 team comp.

Maybe they get only 2 games in WA instead of 5 - e.g. Sunwolves and Rebels go to Rottnest 14 and 10 days before Round 1, play at McGillivray on Saturday and Wednesday, then the next 8 weeks is the Force on tour interstate?

[jargan83]

Was listening to 6PR sports talk earlier and they said the 2 main options for the AFL were dividing the competition into conferences with seperate bubbles or relocating all 18 sides to Melbourne.

I'd wager any Rugby comp will likely follow the lead of the major codes nationally and be played in one city which will probably be Sydney.

[sandgroperrugby]

Was listening to 6PR sports talk earlier and they said the 2 main options for the AFL were dividing the competition into conferences with seperate bubbles or relocating all 18 sides to Melbourne.

I'd wager any Rugby comp will likely follow the lead of the major codes nationally and be played in one city which will probably be Sydney.

You would think but then securing stadiums in Sydney with the redevelopment and NRL may prove difficult.

[jargan83]

You would think but then securing stadiums in Sydney with the redevelopment and NRL may prove difficult.

Not necessarily, if the games are played without crowds all they would need are positions for the TV cameras.

[shasta]

The main game changer for all codes is that the infection rate continues the current trend. With no secondary infection wave I reckon governments will be under pressure to make special dispensations for sports teams within a couple of months. The way NRL handled their Round 2 is the model. Charter flights on game day off the plane straight onto a (disinfected) bus - driver traveling with the team and observing the same protocols. Play in empty stadium and back home same day.
The easing of quarantine measures for Joe Public will be a separate matter for governments. The question for Rugby is whether a hastily thrown together comp will generate sufficient revenue to cover enough of the costs. Got big reservations there. I'd wager that both the NRL & AFL are going to take the gamble of significant losses this year to maintain their profile and hope to make it up in the future - and that is an "known unknown"

[SPaRTAN]

Yep.


Still, that 2 weeks quarantine could be deal breaker for Force home games in a 5 or 6 team comp.

Maybe they get only 2 games in WA instead of 5 - e.g. Sunwolves and Rebels go to Rottnest 14 and 10 days before Round 1, play at McGillivray on Saturday and Wednesday, then the next 8 weeks is the Force on tour interstate?

I doubt Force will have any home games. They will be playing all their games on the East coast, and maybe even in one state

[Sheikh]

I doubt Force will have any home games. They will be playing all their games on the East coast, and maybe even in one state

I'd be surprised if this replacement Super Rugby comp ever got up and running - the logistics of it are incredibly complex. You may be getting wound up about nothing.

I'm not even sure that the NRC will be capable of being played this year, and almost certainly not with games in Fiji; they've only had a dozen of so cases, so won't want any risk of a player, coach, etc, bringing it into the country.

[SPaRTAN]

I'd be surprised if this replacement Super Rugby comp ever got up and running - the logistics of it are incredibly complex. You may be getting wound up about nothing.

I'm not even sure that the NRC will be capable of being played this year, and almost certainly not with games in Fiji; they've only had a dozen of so cases, so won't want any risk of a player, coach, etc, bringing it into the country.

Bizarre comments. All other sporting codes will be resuming very shortly.

NRC can easily be played, Fiji are only one team, all the rest are domestic. The whole comp wont cease because Fiji cant attend, most people on the east coast didnt even want Fiji's participation.

I reckon GRR still could of got going though, the international flights will open up eventually for essential travel eg. Work etc and sport qualifies as work as the players are technically workers etc.

Im just waiting for the news where they decide to axe the Force participation, we all know its going to happen, RA are full of shit, always have been, always will be.

Stadiums will be closed so they may as well just play these sporting events in one states, pointless going to other states when their arent any attendances, defeats the purpose of home ground advantage.

[SPaRTAN]

Just so everyone knows there are already exemptions for quarantining people who travel domestically.

Here is just one example.

Sporting teams will be fine




--------------------------------------
Billionaire Kerry Stokes exempted from strict quarantine rules after arriving in Perth from Aspen by private jet

For our free coronavirus pandemic coverage, learn more here.

By Hamish Hastie and Nathan Hondros
April 23, 2020 — 9.36am
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WA Police gave billionaire mining and media mogul Kerry Stokes and his wife an exemption from mandatory hotel quarantine rules on medical grounds after they returned to Perth from the United States on their private jet two weeks ago.

The exemption, granted by WA Police after advice from the State Health Incident Coordination Centre, meant Mr and Mrs Stokes could self-isolate in their Dalkeith home rather than be locked down in a hotel room like thousands of other West Australians returning from overseas.

Media mogul Kerry Stokes and his wife Christine Simpson Stokes were both granted exemptions to WA's tough hotel quarantine rules.
Media mogul Kerry Stokes and his wife Christine Simpson Stokes were both granted exemptions to WA's tough hotel quarantine rules.

WA Premier Mark McGowan used tough rhetoric at the end of March stating there would be no exemptions "for all Australians" to strict hotel quarantine rules.

The couple arrived in Perth on April 8 aboard their Bombardier BD-700 Global Express, which arrived from the United States and transited through Hawaii. The Sydney Morning Herald's CBD column reported just days after the quarantine rules came into force on March 28 that Mr Stokes had been locked down in Beaver Creek, Colorado, where he owns a $15 million penthouse close to the Aspen ski fields.

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A spokesman said the couple was exempt from isolating in a hotel following their arrival in Perth because Mr Stokes had recently undergone a medical procedure.

"The exemption also applied to Mr Stokes' wife who accompanied him and they have been in isolation for two weeks at their home in Perth," he said. "Mr and Mrs Stokes strictly followed all the required protocols during that time, as did the air crew.

"Many thousands of Australians have also received exemptions over the last month."

The spokesman did not reveal details about the nature of the medical procedure that led to the exemption and said it was a private matter.

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Kerry Stokes' riverfront mansion in Perth's billionaire suburb of Dalkeith.
Kerry Stokes' riverfront mansion in Perth's billionaire suburb of Dalkeith.

When Mr McGowan announced the quarantine rules in WA on March 27, which were a decision of the National Cabinet, he said there would be no exemptions to the 14-day requirement. He said it was a rule "for all Australians coming home from overseas into any state across the country".

"There will be no exemptions on this," he said. "Any West Australians who are also still overseas and want to come back, they will not be allowed to go home – they will need to stay in self-isolation at Rottnest or a hotel.

"Any other Australians coming home from overseas into WA will also be self-isolated in a hotel or at Rottnest."

There were almost 1000 Australians locked up in Perth hotels in the first few days after the quarantine rules were put in place, including many who complained about the strictness of the measures.

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One of them was Barry Preedy, who was COVID-19 positive but was refused permission to leave his hotel room to visit his wife Maureen as she died of the disease in a Perth hospital.

According to guidelines posted on the federal Health Department's website, there are exemptions available for crew, unaccompanied minors and diplomats as well as on compassionate and health grounds.

In a statement issued by the office of WA Police Minister Michelle Roberts, a state government spokesman said it was not appropriate to comment on any individual's personal circumstances.

"WA Police manage the exemption process and the State Health Incident Coordination Centre also advises that all exemption requirements were complied with in this particular case and it is consistent with other exemptions that have needed to be issued," he said.

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A WA Health Department spokeswoman confirmed the centre was called on to give medical advice to police for Mr Stokes’ exemption application.

Under WA-specific quarantine rules the state’s police commissioner can grant exemptions on a case by case basis but evidence, such as a medical certificate, "may be required". WA Police refused to reveal why WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson granted Mr Stokes and his wife an exemption due to 'privacy reasons'.

When asked how many exemptions had been granted since the quarantine rules came into place in March the spokeswoman said from April 6 to 21 more than 3000 people had travelled to the state by aircraft and, of those, more than 900 had "self-quarantined" rather than being confined to a quarantine hotel. This number includes people who had arrived from interstate who are governed by less strict rules than international arrivals.

The spokeswoman said a breakdown of the number of exemptions granted on compassionate grounds was not available. Mr McGowan's office was contacted but referred questions to WA Police

[JSJ]

I'd be surprised if this replacement Super Rugby comp ever got up and running - the logistics of it are incredibly complex. You may be getting wound up about nothing.

I'm not even sure that the NRC will be capable of being played this year, and almost certainly not with games in Fiji; they've only had a dozen of so cases, so won't want any risk of a player, coach, etc, bringing it into the country.

Listening to Force coach Tim Simpson towards the end of this podcast, recorded last night, they are expecting to play in Super Rugby this year and even possibly NRC.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/843712/34...Dvr_-XFMIj1MhA

Raelene Castle is talking July/August. And even Bledisloe games in Oct/Nov
https://www.rugby.com.au/news/2020/0...castle-q-and-a

[shasta]

Looks like the Feds (according to ScoMo) are looking favorably towards giving the NZ Warriors special dispensation and Qld is now asking for details of NRL's proposed protocols.

So don't write off 2020 just yet. The main hurdle will still be broadcast interest.

[SPaRTAN]

Looks like the Feds (according to ScoMo) are looking favorably towards giving the NZ Warriors special dispensation and Qld is now asking for details of NRL's proposed protocols.

So don't write off 2020 just yet. The main hurdle will still be broadcast interest.

Just write it off for GRR who were far too trigger happy to pull the pin.

[jargan83]

Looks like the Feds (according to ScoMo) are looking favorably towards giving the NZ Warriors special dispensation and Qld is now asking for details of NRL's proposed protocols.

So don't write off 2020 just yet. The main hurdle will still be broadcast interest.

Channel 9 holding this year hostage trying to jag an extended deal.

The NRL should just play, Channel 9 will televise the games.

[shasta]

Channel 9 holding this year hostage trying to jag an extended deal.

The NRL should just play, Channel 9 will televise the games.

I saw James Hooper on Fox tonight. His thinking is that 9 are playing for a payment reduction on the basis the "product" is not what they signed up for. A bit ridiculous when it wiil be the only game in town for some time and will rate through the roof. Hooper thinks the NRL will cop a lesser amount in exchange for an extra 3 year extension.

[jargan83]

I saw James Hooper on Fox tonight. His thinking is that 9 are playing for a payment reduction on the basis the "product" is not what they signed up for. A bit ridiculous when it wiil be the only game in town for some time and will rate through the roof. Hooper thinks the NRL will cop a lesser amount in exchange for an extra 3 year extension.

I see a benefit in extending the deal, it would give the NRL certainty moving into a post Covid world down the track but 9 will try to low ball the NRL. They want Fox to give up the simulcast tights so I assume 9 may have to pay more for that as Fox would be insane to give that up.

Time to see if that useless sack of crap V'Landys is as good as he thinks he is.