St George Illawarra Dragons teammates Zac Lomax and Daniel Alvaro could miss up to one month's worth of footy. The duoย risk being left in Sydney during the current outbreak.
While the rest of their team are preparing to travel to Queensland this Wednesday, the pair might be left behind. Foxsports reported that the pair are the only players yet to sign sworn documents that specify the details of Paul Vaughan's Barbecue.
According to News Corp, unless the players sign the documents before Wednesday then the Dragons will be forced to leave the two players behind.
The two are in their mandatory 14-day isolation period in Sydney. They would face a further 14 days of quarantine in Queensland if they aren't able to enter the 'bubble' on Wednesday.
Senior sports writer for the Australian Brent Read tweeted that missing the Wednesday deadline could result in a month's hiatus for the Dragon duo.
NRL has confirmed @NRL_Dragons pair Zac Lomax and Daniel Alvaro may be sidelined for up to a month if they fail to sign statements relating to BBQ-gate. Currently, in 14-day Covid hold and then face another quarantine period when they join teammates in Queensland. @aus_sport
— Brent Read (@brentread_7) July 12, 2021
The NRL and Rugby League Players Association drafted the document in the last week. Its purpose was to confirm that no one outside of the bubble was present at Vaughan's barbecue.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has said that if the document isn't signed then those players will need a further two weeks of quarantine in Queensland before rejoining their team.
โThat was their call to make [not to sign],โ Abdo told the Sydney Morning Herald.
โIn the situation of the Dragons, there was a COVID hold based on that particular breach, which was a 14-day period."
โWe worked with the club on how we could potentially assist the players and the club by reducing that COVID hold, and that required a number of things, [including] confirming information already provided to us in writing, and some related to testing and other elements."
โTen of them have completed that and will [rejoin] the bubble and travel up on Wednesday. Those who havenโt wonโt."
It is believed that Gerard Beale, Jack Bird, Jack de Belin, Matt Dufty, Kaide Ellis, Tyrell Fuimaono, Josh Kerr, Blake Lawrie, Josh McGuire and Corey Norman have all already signed the document. They were all cleared to train on Monday.
The NRL isn't opposed to Alvaro and Lomax returning to play later in the season, but won't be giving players special treatment. Abdo said that the league's priority is continuing the season. It is also making sure the 12 clubs are able to get their players back.
โItโs not a priority for us at the moment [Getting Alvaro and Lomax in the Bubble]. What is a priority for us is making sure the 41 people at 12 clubs get safely and securely into Queensland. Itโs a monumental logistical exercise," Abdo said.
โOnce youโre off the COVID hold theyโre free to play. But now we have a situation where their team [could be] located in another state with borders closed."
โThere will need to be a mechanism for them like any other player who enters the bubble to quarantine before they rejoin the bubble. You donโt want to restart a 14-day quarantine period by putting more people into it."
While most of the players involved have signed the document, that doesn't mean that they have come out unscathed.
Each player was handed a one-match ban for their role in breaking COVID protocols. Due to the high number of suspensions, the bans will be staggered over the next two to four weeks.ย This will ensure the club is able to field a team.
Missing Alvaro and Lomax for a month would be a huge blow for the Dragons. They are already limited with who they can play over the next four rounds.
It was reported that Alvaro and Lomax are understood to have declined to sign those documents for legal reasons.
The advice was to not sign unless they believed that the document's version of events was the whole truth.
There are some suggestions that they might be reconsidering their stance, however.
