The Canberra Raiders return to training track ahead of NRL return

You couldn't wipe the smile from Raiders head of physical performance Nigel Ashley-Jones' voice after he was back putting the Green Machine through their paces. Getting them ready for a May 28 return to competition.

The 2020 premiership title is well and truly back in their crosshairs. The sun shining gloriously on their $19 million centre of excellence on Wednesday. The first time they've trained on the brand-new field.

But the ever changing world of the coronavirus pandemic means Ashley-Jones has had to throw away the textbook and prepare for anything.

They traded tackle bags for teammates. And they still don't know when they can return to full contact, with Sunday touted as a possibility.

They trained in three groups of 10, which included the coaches, to abide by the regulations in place to allow them to minimise the risk.

It meant it wasn't just the Raiders players working overtime on their return.

Ashley-Jones was expecting everyone to enjoy a good night's sleep.

"Mate, it's wonderful to be back ... the first time we've actually been on the deck at Braddon," he said.

"It made you realise just how good a job we've got when you get to do it. We're knackered, the boys are knackered, we worked them really hard, but it's been a great day.

"We had to put them into three groups. From myself to the coaches, we'll all need a good sleep tonight.

"A maximum of 10, which included staff, so we had them in pods. We just split the staff up and the pod travelled to that staff member and we completed the session we had planned, albeit was tweaked for the small group thing."

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The NRL's been in lockdown since round two, with players confined to training in pairs or alone. Running in parks, on ovals or on golf courses.

They've been forced to cobble together gym sessions depending on what weights they had available at home. With some resorting to wheelbarrows and bricks.

Now, Ashley-Jones is plotting a path to a return to full contact, easing the players into it. Step one - tackle bags as they await the all clear to start putting the shoulder into their teammates.

That could come on Sunday. Maybe later. But that's for the NRL to work out. Ashley-Jones said they'd be ready even if they only got the all clear a coupla days before kick off.

"We can talk about the lack of time - maybe the injuries go up, the risk of injury is greater - but to be honest we do not care. We're just going for it," Ashley-Jones said.

"It's about controlling their muscle soreness. It's about slowly building them up, but still being prepared.

"The contact side of it is the most difficult. We spend so many hours talking about it, planning, screwing that plan up.

"This is all innovation. There's no textbooks on this. We believe we've got a plan in place that will tick those boxes."

The balls were out to add to the excitement. It was the first time they've been able to train with teammates in weeks.

With the NRL's new protocols in place, the balls had to be cleaned in between each session. The NRL's "COVID cop" overseeing the new procedures in place.

Procedures that include training on a field that's fenced off from everyone - including any Raiders staff not included on the Apollo register. A temperature testing tent on the way into the facility. Changing shoes into a clean pair that can only be worn inside. Wiping down gym equipment after every use.

And how were the Raiders' skills on their first day back after doing nothing but trick shots on TikTok?

"The balls had to be washed between sessions ... but they did ball work and everything today," Ashley-Jones said.

"It was great to see the boys came back in and their skills weren't too bad. We had a good session."

Ashley-Jones was also impressed with the condition the entire squad returned in.

The players have been "harassed" over the past six weeks to ensure they followed their programs. Sending in videos of them weighing themselves. Even getting Ashley-Jones to measure the circumference of some Canberra ovals so they knew exactly how far they were running.

Which was why the golf courses came in handy for the occasional session - the distances were already been done for you.

Ashley-Jones even got the players to do their own fitness testing last week so they knew exactly where everyone was at from day one.

"We're pretty anal about it over the last month. We harassed every one of the squad members to complete their programming and the boys were wonderful," he said.

"We had boys all over the eastern seaboard ... they didn't break any of the rules, they did their sessions - as different as they were - and I even got them to test themselves last week individually so we had some stats on them.

"We had their body weights sent in remotely. You name it. I can't speak highly enough of how well they applied themselves to the situation and they came back in good nick. And now we're hitting our intensity in our training."