After spending the week wreaking havoc on State of Origin line-ups, COVID also found the time to make its way to Sydney’s Northern Beaches, settling down with Manly coach Des Hasler over the weekend.
Luckily for Hasler, after catching the virus over Manly’s bye, he immediately entered self-isolation and is expected to be fully recovered in time to manage his team in their key clash against Newcastle at 4 Pines Park this Saturday afternoon.
Hasler honed his isolation methods during the early days of the pandemic. In April 2020 as the league sat in limbo, Hasler admitted he had been doing ‘drive-bys’ on his players to ensure they were staying fit and adhering to protocols.
Once the bubbles were initiated, reports emerged that the veteran coach was struggling with the restraints that clubs and players had to adhere to.
“He’s been going nuts. He wants to play cards with us so he must be lonely,” centre Brad Parker told Fox Sports in August 2021.
The news of Hasler’s COVID experience has broken less than 24 hours after Queensland legend Darren Lockyer suggested the league may need to go back to a bubble situation to protect the finals, following an increasing number of COVID cases impacting club and Origin-level football.
Cameron Munster and Murray Taulagi have been ruled out for the Maroons in the decider, following Jack Wighton’s COVID omission in Game II and another positive case from Blues utility Nicho Hynes.
“If this had happened in Game I, I think there would have been a bubble (moving forward) because on the biggest stage you want the best players playing,” Lockyer told Nine’s Sports Sunday.
“It’s probably a bit of a lesson for the NRL. Maybe it’s an insight into what they do with the finals this year.”