Quote: Lord Tony Smith "It just makes our whole competition look amateurish. When you compare it to the NRL, football and cricket etc, these athletes have been told to live in a 'bubble'. Why the hell hasn't that been the case in SL? You go on Instagram over the weekend and you see from players stories that Hull players are in a payers garden all having a drink together, it makes a mockery of the competition. Hasn't Jofra Archer been banned for breaking quarantine rules by simply nipping to his flat and not being in contact with anyone? You see Pangai at the Broncos potentially facing the sack for going for a haircut. In the Premier League they were carrying out over a 1000 tests per week for 8 weeks and I don't think there were more than 5 positive tests. In my opinion, players are just putting theirs and other livelihoods at risk over a drink with their mates. It's not just Hull by the way, Blake Austin went to Anfield when Liverpool were lifting the trophy, the Wigan lads have been out in Manchester etc but when you hear Tom Lineham come out with these conspiracy theories and his love for Johnson and Trump you kind of half expect something like this to happen given most RL players are not the sharpest tools in the shed.'"
Austin was made to sit out training as a result of his indiscretion, I don't know if he was fined. I believe in the NRL you are forced to quarantine for 14 days for any breach - so the punishments are more severe. Pangai I think has been stood down indefinitely for multiple breaches of restrictions, rather than a one off visit to a barbers. I agree any players breaking COVID restrictions need to be stood down and fined, but meeting in a garden for a few beers or having a beer outside a bar is not breaking guidelines. In Australia I think the state governments have put in stricter measures than the UK and travel between states for example is banned (hence the need for a player bubble).
I have no idea what the rules are for Premier League players set by the League or the Clubs, do they have to follow stricter measures than the government?
Australia is different to the UK, I believe interstate travel is banned so bubbles of players had to be set up. No such restrictions exist in the UK, I can't see it as possible for players to isolate from their families for the next 3 months and I'm not sure the clubs could afford it either way.
