The NRL have taken the sensational step of postponing Canterbury’s match against the Sydney Roosters until Monday night following a coronavirus scare.
Canterbury forward Aiden Tolman was notified on Saturday night a teacher at his child’s school had tested positive to the virus.
The Laguna Street public school in Sydney’s south has been closed until 25 June, with a warning there’s a possibility children may have brought the virus home.
Tolman has undergone an urgent coronavirus test, with the NRL expecting results by lunchtime on Sunday.
The NRL were not willing to risk having a positive test returned just hours before kickoff, throwing the schedule into chaos, so they postponed the match.
The Bulldogs v Roosters game has now been moved to 7pm on Monday, while Sunday’s St George Illawarra v Cronulla match at Campbelltown has been brought forward to start at 4pm instead of 6pm.
“We’re rapidly testing that player [Tolman] as we speak. We believe the risk is minimal, but we’re not going to take the risk,†ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys said.
“The message is we’re not taking any risk with our players, or the community. Even though the risk is very low, the risk is not worth taking.
“We’ve shifted the match to tomorrow night to 7pm, and taken the St George Illawarra-Cronulla match to 4pm this afternoon.â€
At this stage Tolman is the only Canterbury player being tested, given if he returns a negative result there is no risk to any other teammate.
The match is the first to be affected by the virus since the NRL’s resumption last month.
