Fringe NRL players face another stint on the sidelines after being all but ruled out of reserve-grade matches due to the game's COVID-19 bubble.
Sydney players were on Friday forced back into level-three restrictions, meaning they can only leave their house to train, play, exercise or access essentials.
But there are also other real football ramifications for each club's top 30 rosters and development players.
The NRL has confirmed players will not be able to play in the NSW Cup while in the bubble, given it would require contact with those outside of the protocols.
Clubs are however free to roll the dice and play anyone they wish in reserve grade, however they will be unable to rejoin the bubble until restrictions ease.
Regardless, that has forced several clubs to pull players out of their reserve-grade sides.
Clubs on Friday were facing significant shortages, with as many as 12 players withdrawn from some reserve-grade sides.
In turn, that has flow-on effects to both the Jersey Flegg under-21s competition with SG Ball under-18 players set to be called up en masse.
It also threatens to leave the third-tier Ron Massey Cup short and into even lower grades, leaving teams scrambling for players.
There were fears on Friday morning that some NSW Cup matches may need to be postponed as a result of the withdrawals.
However that has now seemingly subsided.
Beyond players, coaching staff are also impacted with several part lower-grade bosses part of the NRL bubble.
For instance, Penrith NSW Cup coach Peter Wallace and Ron Massey Cup counterpart Shane Elford will leave their teams to join the NRL group.
Fringe players were last year unable to play any other football during the season while in the bubble, leaving some to a whole year without a game.
However there were fewer lower-grade shortages, given the NSW Cup, Jersey Flegg, Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield were all cancelled as well as similar Queensland competitions.
Meanwhile there was some good news on Friday morning with all Sydney Roosters players returning negative COVID-19 tests, allowing them to face Parramatta.
The entire Roosters football department, including their NRL squad, were rushed for tests on Thursday after an infected person visited a cafe 100 metres from their headquarters.
The Roosters were confident none of their players had been in the Moore Park cafe at the time, which is a regular coffee stop for athletes and sports officials.
Players had been able to train on Thursday as normal ahead of Friday's game.
The fate of next weekend's Magic Round does however still hang in the balance, but the NRL hope the game's bubble will help protect the Brisbane extravaganza.
Australian Associated Press
