NSWRL announces plan for community league return on 18th July

The NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) is to resume rugby league across the state, along with the Ron Massey Cup, Sydney Shield and the Harvey Norman NSW women's premiership, as of 18th July.

As reported at NRL.com, NSWRL Chief Executive, David Trodden and his board have met for discussions around the future of grassroots rugby league and the three senior competitions - classed as community rugby league - since cancelling other major senior competitions for the 2020 season on 27th March.

Trodden said on the advice of Government restrictions in place by July, the state governing body would, subject to another review in June, work to resume the competitions in a shortened format for the remainder of the season.

The NSW Health Order restricts prevents sports from being played until at least 29th June.

In a statement issued by the NSWRL, Trodden advised “accordingly, the earliest possible return date is 30 June 2020, unless the NSW Government decides to lift the Public Health order earlier.

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

"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."

Trodden told NRL.com last week that NRL and other contracted players would unlikely be ineligible to use the third-tier Ron Massey Cup competition as a way to get some sort of match fitness under their belt after the Canterbury Cup was cancelled for the season.

He advised last week “one of the things the NRL will be really, really self-conscious of is the biosecurity risks to their competition.

"They'll want to make sure that anybody who has any association with an NRL squad is quarantined from anywhere else. The Canterbury Cup runs in conjunction with the NRL and that's why we made that call early."

The NSWRL indicated it has more than 100,000 boys, girls, men and women across the state involved in community rugby league eligible for a return.

All clubs and leagues are encouraged to continue to take registrations beyond the traditional 30th June registration cut-off date.

In March, major competitions Canterbury Cup NSW, Jersey Flegg Cup, Women's Country Championships and Men’s Under 23s Country Championships, along with junior representative competitions the SG Ball Cup, Tarsha Gale Cup, Harold Matthews Cup, Andrew Johns Cup and Laurie Daley Cup, were all confirmed to be cancelled for the season.

No awards or premierships will be awarded for either competition.