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Cameron Smith has called for the NRL to be suspended for "a couple of weeks", claiming he and his Melbourne teammates are concerned for the health of their families.
Key points:
- Cameron Smith said it was in the best interest of NRL players for the competition to be suspended
- The Manly-Melbourne fixture was the first to played after the NRL announced it would continue with its 2020 season
- Match officials at Brookvale Oval used bleach to clean the playing balls during the contest amid the threat posed by coronavirus
Smith's comments came after the Storm's 18-4 win over Manly at Brookvale Oval in Sydney, which followed the NRL's announcement this morning that it would continue with the 2020 season until further notice.
Next weekend's round two matches will be played inside empty venues, however Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys said the competition could still be suspended as "the situation is fluid and is changing by the hour".
Smith said he was speaking for all Melbourne players — as well as coach Craig Bellamy — when he highlighted his concern around family members and the team's constant travel load.
"This thing is bigger than rugby league," he said.
"This affects more than just rugby league and rugby league players … after finishing these matches on weekends, we go back to our families.
"There are several players in our squad who are going back to their families who have newborn babies.
"Craig [Bellamy] has an elderly mother. My parents are in their 60s. Craig is in his 60s. But listening to medical advice, he is in the risk bracket.
"If we make a decision to suspend the competition for a couple of weeks, it gives everyone an opportunity to sum up the situation a lot better rather than being reactive daily or hourly."
The Storm flew home to Melbourne this evening via a commercial airline, however the NRL is speaking with a biosecurity expert to consider whether chartered flights or buses would be safer from next weekend.
"There is something in place tomorrow to avoid being around groups larger than 500 people," Smith said.
"And there are more than 500 people at airports and we're going to be doing that every second week."
Your questions on coronavirus answered:
Bellamy questioned why crowds were allowed in stadiums in round one.
"If you're not going to play in front of crowds round two, you shouldn't do it round one," Bellamy said.
The Warriors will be playing Canberra in an empty stadium in Robina next weekend after the club made the decision to remain in Australia following the New Zealand Government's announcement on Saturday it was tightening its border restrictions.
But the Warriors have not ruled out returning to New Zealand after the Raiders encounter next weekend, a move that would create doubt about the season continuing.
Cherry-Evans backs NRL's position
Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans said he had faith the NRL would make the right call in the interests of the players.
"As a player, I just want to play footy, so if the comp goes on, I'm happy to play, [I'm] certainly not too worried," he told ABC Grandstand.
"The NRL will make the right call for … player health and safety, so we'll back that and just keep playing footy."
Match officials at Brookvale Oval were taking precautionary measures in light of the threat posed by coronavirus and its potential impact on the season.
Ball kids wore gloves and the playing balls were cleaned with bleach every time they crossed the touchline or went into the crowd.
Crowd numbers were affected in the first round of the NRL amid concerns about coronavirus.
In a sold-out stadium opening in Townsville, 22,459 spectators watched Brisbane beat North Queensland on Friday evening, while 21,363 attended the Western Sydney stadium to see Parramatta defeat Canterbury the previous night.
But just 10,239 saw Newcastle go top of the table with a 20-0 win over the Warriors on Saturday afternoon, while only 6,325 watched South Sydney's nail-biting win over Cronulla.
Crowds of around 10,000 were also only in place for Canberra's win over Gold Coast and Penrith's shock victory over defending premiers the Sydney Roosters.
Round one came to a conclusion this evening, with Benji Marshall producing a vintage performance to lead the Wests Tigers to a hard-fought 24-14 victory over St George Illawarra in Wollongong.
On the same day scans revealed Luke Brooks would miss a month with a calf injury, Marshall stepped up with a try and two try assists.
At 35, the league's second-oldest player also added four goals from four attempts in what was his first match with the kicking tee since 2013.
ABC/AAP
Topics: sport, rugby-league, nrl, brookvale-2100, melbourne-3000, leichhardt-2040, campbelltown-2560, wollongong-2500, kogarah-2217
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