As far as I know no club is telling their players not to mix with their partners and children so they are all going to face a level of risk that is outside the control of any club.
If there is a correlation, it is most likely coincidence or linked to the level of Covid in the towns the players live in.

It's linked to more numerical testing of inviduals using tests that can't detect infection (and aren't designed to detect infection), so continual testing of persons with tests that have a massively high false positive rate (as admitted by PHE, Hancock and Johnson etc) the more likely you'll get a 'case', but that case or cases are FP,
it's a matter of numbers and using a testing regime that has a designed 'flaw' in it, it's not players doing anything wrong

Great post, but they face an even bigger disaster off the pitch than relegation on it.............

Bigger still if they are relegated !

Fixtures have been postponed due to Covid that are in accordance with RFL's Multiple Case Framework. Castleford's situation is different (same as Salford against Wire last season), in that absenteeism isn't down to Covid, and the points were awarded to their opponents.

Not sure we can change the RFL's rules so that you can have the points going to the opposition, when were trying to stop the spread of infection.

I'd just like to congratulate the Castleford Tigers conditioning team on their fantastic effort to get a near full fit squad for the Hudds game this Tuesday. A master stroke by Powell not wanting to play Saints.

Have they really done that?

Farcical. Hudds should do a Salford.

Yes



A proper p-take this one

I might been eating my own words as we haven't yet released our squad for Tuesday.
Maybe Watson playing the master stroke by not playing Cas but saving (resting) the players for Wigan next Sunday?

Cas were unable to field a full team due to 'covid' rules stopping the fit players at the club not being allowed to play, if you only have 14 fit players and a significant portion of them are kids, that then becomes a player welfare issue IMO.
That the RFL state it's only senior players that are included in the covid rules to be able to have the game postponed not cancelled is a disgrace, if youth system players are unavailable due to the covid rules then surely that should be also considered when senior players are injured!
People stating that Cas have done miracles re getting players fit clearly have no idea regards injuries, 8 full days and still you don't know if players are playing through injury. Again it comes down to player welfare, force players to play before they are ready then look on in amazement when they break down, are out for even longer or worse sustain an even worse injury than the original.

So Huddersfield having to play 3 times in 12 days while having 6 on international duty, 12 out injured and a covid outbreak is not a player welfare issue then but Cas's was?

Everyone knows they played the system to save their players and be fresher as they expected to lose to saints so were happy to lose 24-0 to save there players, it's a farce but there is no punishment for this sort of thing to stop them.

That's not what the rule says.

It's players registered to the first team squad - this list is submitted at the beginning of the season.

Cas have a minimum of 32 players registered.

Amazing how they are all fit the week after being unfit to play against the league leaders and current champions, Saints.

Rugby league is a joke in this country.