AIS and Canberra Raiders' facilities turn Canberra into an ideal NRL hub

Jarrod Croker and Josh Hodgson leading the Canberra Raiders onto the park for a blockbuster clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, their first meeting since that night last September.

It is a game the Rabbitohs are desperate to atone for, even knowing nothing they do now can take them back to that night, nothing can help them bring down a rampaging Josh Papalii.

A showdown fans have been desperate to see again - two genuine premiership contenders going toe to toe is one many will have had circled since the fixture was published.

Instead, a George Williams drop punt from where this column is being written by the roundabout next to the main entry, the roller doors have been slammed shut in front of the turnstiles.

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The iconic bronzed images of Mal Meninga and Laurie Daley stand alone in the western concourse, the car park nearby home to four cars either overstaying their welcome or soon to depart.

Because there will be no meeting between the Raiders and South Sydney today, not in a world ravaged by a coronavirus pandemic which has derailed sport and society as we know it.

There will be no game here, where next door sits an empty AIS track with a field in the middle, and close by is a high performance facility boasting gymnasiums and state of the art sports science faculties.

A short walk down the road and around the corner brings you to a deserted Raiders headquarters which is now set to become a home to local football and Country Rugby League programs.

Because the Green Machine have shifted to Braddon, into a state of the art high performance centre which is among the finest in Australian sport.

That is no beat-up - the $19 million centre boasts a training field, a hydrotherapy room with a pool and three spas, a theatre and a physiotherapy centre with cryogenic chambers.

Players can live out their Masterchef dreams in the kitchen - word is Michael Oldfield is among the best chefs at the Raiders - while officials work away in the McIntyre Boardroom.

Oh, and there's the gymnasium brimming with weights, a 40-metre sled pushing track and a wrestling mat.

What more could the Raiders need in their bid to bounce back from a grand final defeat and go one better in 2020?

In fact, what more could any NRL team want? Two rugby league-specific high-performance facilities, the AIS and a stadium to train and play games in.

So as clubs outside our little capital territory and the state of NSW prepare to pack their bags and relocate in a bid to resume the NRL season, why shouldn't Canberra be entertained as a rugby league hub?

Clubs are set to welcome players back to training on May 4 with an eye on resuming the season on May 28 after it was postponed following the opening two rounds.

The New Zealand Warriors, North Queensland Cowboys, Brisbane Broncos, Gold Coast Titans and Melbourne Storm will all be forced to set up camp in NSW due to travel restrictions designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Cowboys coach Paul Green concedes it's "probably not" fair, but it is a necessary evil if we are to get rugby league up and running in the coming month.

Lockdown measures are expected to ease across the Tasman but the Warriors still require a travel exemption to arrive in Australia as they face a two-week quarantine period upon arrival.

Players and staff are likely to have to remain in quarantine but the NRL could push for them to be allowed to resume training as a team.

Why not do so in Canberra? Clubs forced to relocate could base themselves at the AIS and split their training across a now deserted Raiders headquarters in Bruce, the AIS itself and Canberra Stadium.

They will have to find adequate training venues wherever they land, so it would make sense to take advantage of facilities ready-made for elite sport.

They could do so for as long as necessary as rugby league supremos target a revamped competition which could feature a 17-week season, four weeks of finals and an October 4 decider.

One can only hope the stadium will be heaving for that showdown.