The Panthers are concerned of the impacts Apisai Koroisau's absence could have on the club's critical away trips to Queensland and New Zealand next season, as he is yet to decide whether to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.
With state restrictions in place for those that choose to go unvaccinated, Koroisau stands to miss at least four matches in 2022 and therefore leave a sizeable void in the Panthers' dummy-half depths.
The 29-year-old would miss trips to face the Titans (Round 8), Storm (Round 10), Warriors (Round 15) and Cowboys (Round 25) next year, with Panthers chief executive Brian Fletcher expressing his concern surrounding the potential absence of Penrith's star hooker in their premiership defence.
โItโs OK to fine Api but we have to think about the rest of the team, playing four games a year without the clubโs number one dummy half," Fletcher told The Daily Telegraph.ย
The Panthers and Fletcher are understood to have held a meeting with Koroisau to explain the consequences of going unvaccinated into the new season, howeverย News Corp'sย report suggests the club have not placed an ultimatum on the Fijian international.
Fletcher, accompanied by a club high-performance manager and a welfare and education co-ordinator, looked to explain the potential repercussions of Koroisau's stance, giving the Blues rake time to mull over his decision prior to returning to the club for training next month.
โWe had a good conversation and explained our side, which we have to do,โ Fletcher added. โApi understands all the implications of vaccination and non-vaccination.
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โIt will be his decision. Itโs not our decision to tell him to get vaccinated but we just wanted him to understand all the consequences, which he has now taken away to comprehend. Api has had some medical history with it.
โHe will get advice on that and get back to us within the month and weโll go from there. Weโve done our part. Itโs a process.โ
