Attendees of a New South Wales Rugby League training camp last weekend have been forced into isolation after two positive COVID-19 cases were recorded across male and female squads.
One positive stems from the 31-man strong Emerging Blues squad, while the second positive is linked to the women’s camp held at Sydney’s Olympic Park.
Nathan Cleary and Tom Trbojevic are believed to have spoken to the young male players on Saturday are now expected to isolate.
They were asked to attend in the absence of Blues head coach Brad Fittler who was already in isolation due to an unrelated COVID-19 scare.
Fittler’s assistant coaches Andrew Johns, Greg Alexander, Paul McGregor and recently-retired Blues captain Boyd Cordner were also forced to isolate.
The Emerging Blues camp included Roosters teenager Joseph Suaalii, St George Illawarra trio Junior Amone, Tyrell Sloan and Jayden Sullivan as well as Manly’s Haumole Olakau’atu and Jason Saab.
Amone, Sloan and Sullivan trained with the Dragons on Monday morning, but were sent into isolation on Monday evening.
A St George Illawarra official confirmed the rest of the squad’s training was unaffected.
Players who formed part of the women’s Sky Blues and under-19 squads, who were present at training on the Sunday, were initially deemed casual contacts but have since gone into isolation due to a positive test among one of the squads.
“The NSWRL was advised late yesterday of a positive COVID-19 test following a high performance camp at the NSWRL Centre of Excellence on the weekend of 11-12 December,” a NSWRL spokesperson said.
“The test occurred after the camp had concluded. The NSWRL has subsequently been advised of a positive test by a women’s player who also attended the camp.
“The NSWRL is adhering to the strict health and biosecurity protocols from the NRL’s Project Apollo, which includes self-isolating and undergoing COVID-19 tests, in order to ensure safety for player, staff, officials and the wider community.”
The latest COVID-19 scare comes after the Wests Tigers were forced to cancel training last week when a club trainer tested positive, while on Monday Newcastle sent players home to await results due to concern their players may have been close contacts linked to growing case numbers in the region.
By George Clarke in Sydney
Get all the latest Canberra news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.
