Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart prepares for 'tough' NRL season suspension

The NRL is bracing for a "catastrophic" financial blow after the coronavirus pandemic forced Rugby League Central to close its doors and suspend the season.

It leaves players and staff potentially facing periods of self-isolation away from the full-time environment of first grade football.

But Stuart is confident the Raiders squad will do their bit to curb the spread of the virus and his reasoning is simple.

"The big thing is they want to play footy. Nearly 100 per cent of these guys have been playing footy since the age of five, six, seven years old," Stuart said on NRL 360.

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"They're very fortunate to get paid for doing something they love, and they actually love playing the game.

"The whole competition has just been through a very tough pre-season and they're now doing something they love, they're now doing something they worked hard for.

"They want to play the game. They'll be very sad they can't just go out and do what they love doing on the weekends. That's not just the NRL, that's all sports.

"Think of the kids, the juniors. Think of when we were all playing when we were kids, we just couldn't wait for the weekend.

"This is about a real troubled time for our whole country. There's a lot of people out there, whose modest wages have been put off, they've also got to be paying school fees and mortgages.

"It's a tough time for our country, and it's time for our leaders to really stand up and show great leadership."

In an email to Raiders fans on Monday night, Furner said: "Although we're disappointed with the outcome of today's decision, we agree with the NRL that the health and wellbeing of our players and staff remains paramount during these tough times.

"We will be working through the implications of this decision over the coming days, but I can assure all of our members and fans that we will be doing all we can to ensure the future of our club.

"We want to thank all of our Raiders family for their messages of support during this period. We will endeavour to keep you updated when we have more information."

NRL bosses will hold a phone hook-up with club chief executives on Tuesday morning to open discussions about cost-cutting measures and a path towards a resumption of play.

Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'Landys says the decision to suspend the competition was made in the interest of player safety.

Stuart echoes those sentiments and will now begin to map out training programs for his squad as they prepare for a stint on the sidelines before ideally returning in a revamped competition.

The NRL's season structure will hinge on when medical and biosecurity experts deem conditions safe to return to play, with the Raiders off to an unbeaten start after the opening fortnight.

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"It's very difficult to plan anything not knowing anything about the delay we're going to have, and how many weeks and or months [we'll be out]," Stuart said.

"That'll be something now I go into discussion with my staff about, and hopefully get a little bit more of an understanding on what kind of time we look like having.

"It's very hard, I'm sure, to put a timeframe on it but we'll discuss how we keep players healthy. The players' health and welfare has obviously been put as the highest priority and that is very important."

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