Inside NRL's chaos after lockdown bombshell

2 years ago 282

Injured Penrith skipper Nathan Cleary has fixed an penetration into the chaos that came with Queensland's lockdown connected Saturday, which resulted successful a fig of fixtures being shifted.

The Queensland government's telephone connected Saturday greeting wiped retired each 3 of Saturday's fixtured NRL matches, with the Panthers' expansive last rematch against the Storm postponed to Sunday afternoon.

Watch the Panthers vs Storm NRL expansive last rematch unrecorded and escaped connected Nine from 4pm AEST, oregon travel via our Match Centre!

Cleary explained however the players had been hastily called disconnected the grooming way arsenic the NRL scrambled to support the play alive.

"Yesterday was 1 of the craziest days ever," helium told Nine's The Sunday Footy Show.

"We were sitting astir conscionable aft meal and we recovered retired astir Queensland going into a lockdown. We thought it was a bully happening to effort and halt the dispersed of COVID up here, but we ne'er truly thought the crippled was going to beryllium off.

Nathan Cleary was heading retired onto the grooming way with his injured teammates earlier they were waved disconnected (Getty)

"Us boys who weren't playing were conscionable successful the mediate of a warm-up getting acceptable to bid and we conscionable got called successful saying beauteous overmuch that we've got to amend consecutive distant and we couldn't beryllium grooming and determination was a bully accidental the crippled wouldn't beryllium on.

"We rushed backmost to the squad country and had a meeting, we thought we were going to beryllium disconnected to Townsville to play the game, past we were conscionable waiting astir and yet we got told we weren't playing.

"I deliberation the NRL did a large occupation to get the games backmost connected today. There's a batch of radical retired determination successful lockdown astatine the infinitesimal bored astatine location and they each emotion their footy, truthful kudos to the NRL for getting it connected today."

Cleary is inactive sidelined from a close enarthrosis wounded helium suffered portion representing New South Wales successful this year's State of Origin series, and is inactive without a definitive timeline connected his return.

Cleary wounded his enarthrosis during Game II of the State of Origin bid and is not definite erstwhile he'll instrumentality (Getty)

"Honestly, I don't truly person a acceptable instrumentality day yet," helium said.

"Rehab is going truly well, but there's inactive a fewer boxes to tick until I tin get backmost retired connected the tract and consciousness afloat confident. Hopefully it's wrong the adjacent fewer weeks."

While their prima antheral is sidelined, helium believes determination is simply a large accidental for players connected the fringes to involvement their assertion successful the coming weeks, starting with Sunday's clash against the Storm.

"I deliberation it's a truly bully opportunity. Obviously with Tevita Pangai coming into the squad now arsenic well, there's going to beryllium constricted spots particularly connected that seat and done the mediate there," helium said.

"There's a fewer guys coming successful contiguous that tin truly enactment their manus up to merit a spot successful the last 17. There's inactive plentifulness of endowment connected the squad and plentifulness of belief."

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