The entire Newcastle Knights playing group has been placed into isolation and ordered to undergo testing for COVID-19.
A COVID cluster has emerged linked to The Argyle House in Newcastle, with at least 84 people testing positive linked to the venue.
It’s understood some of the Knights’ households had links to close contacts, causing the Knights to place the entire playing squad and administration staff into isolation.
This is the first time an entire club has been place into isolation since the beginning of the pandemic.
While games and the entire competition has had to be relocated, and a game in 2020 between the Canterbury Bulldogs and Cronulla Sharks was postponed for 24 hours after Aiden Tolman became a close contact, never has an entire playing squad been sent home and placed into isolation.
Games were also postponed in the Queensland bubble last year after the state went into a snap lockdown.
No players from the Knights are believed to have been at the popular nightclub and none have tested positive, with the club confirming the news in a club statement.
“The Newcastle Knights have today undertaken a proactive position by sending all NRL players and football staff for a COVID-19 test, due to current outbreaks in the Newcastle region,” the club said in a statement on Monday.
“As required, everyone who has been tested will self-isolate at home until results return, with a view for all confirmed negative cases to return to training immediately.
“We do not have any positive cases within the Knights at this point in time. The Knights will continue to work through all required processes and protocols with all relevant bodies.”
The Knights are one of a handful of clubs with a fully vaccinated playing roster on the approach to Christmas as the NRL and their clubs deal with the final hold outs for the COVID vaccination.
The arrival of the omicron variant has thrown fresh doubt on case numbers and the ability of the 2022 season and pre-season to go ahead, however, with state borders opening and restrictions only placed against unvaccinated, teams have been back at training for some weeks.