Canberra Raiders set to spend first month of NRL resumption on the road

A return to full contact training has again been delayed again with Monday now the likely date for that to be approved.

Project Apollo are set to hold their final meeting in Sydney on Friday with the draw and what stadiums will be used believed to be high on the agenda, with potentially the opening five rounds decided upon.

The ACT government opened the door for the Raiders to play games at Canberra Stadium when Chief Minister Andrew Barr gave it the all clear.

But it's looking likely they'll be forced to travel to and from Sydney for their games over the opening rounds when the NRL resumes on May 28.

The NRL's expecting to finalise the draw in the next week after just two rounds were completed before the coronavirus forced the suspension of the competition.

A redeveloped Parramatta Stadium looks set to be one of the venues used, while the second could potentially be in Queensland.

The NRL want to restrict the number of venues to help minimise the risk of any players or staff contracting the COVID-19 virus.

Once their protocols have been tested then they might consider expanding the number of venues to allow the Green Machine to play at home.

While there's been talk the 2020 title will have an asterisk next to it, Raiders half Sam Williams believes when the NRL does reboot the premiership will be just as prized as any of the previous editions.

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The Raiders have won both of their games so far this season and the NRL hoped to play a further 18 rounds before embarking on a finals campaign.

It means every team will play each other at least once, with just four rounds cut from the usual season length.

"I've got no doubt it's going to have the same meaning," Williams said.

"There's so much football to be played between now and the grand final day that it's not going to have too much of a difference if it was the 25 rounds or whatever we come up with.

"We're going to play every team. Were going to have to win semi-finals. We're going to have to win grand finals. To me it's as real a season as any.

"Once you get out on that field it's 17 players versus 17 players. That doesn't change if there's a crowd or wherever you're playing. It's going to be as real as any other competition."

There will be one major difference - the players that don't make the Raiders 17 won't have anywhere to play following the cancellation of the 2020 NSW Cup.

Raiders winger Michael Oldfield floated the Canberra Raiders Cup as a possibility if that does manage to get the all clear to start.

"If local league kicks off and they're a couple of positions off playing NRL then, me personally, I don't see the harm in letting them train a few days a week and then go back and play some local [league]," he said.

Otherwise, they'll only have what will effectively be doing a pre-season for the entire year.

Oldfield was mindful it would pose mental challenges for fringe and young players, who had no game time to stake their claim for a promotion.

He said that would need to be carefully managed throughout the rest of the year.

Oldfield's potentially one of those players, especially following the return of Jordan Rapana to the Green Machine.

He's played just 20 NRL games in four seasons, having had unfortunately timed injuries and players like Rapana and Nick Cotric ahead of him in the pecking order.

"It's an interesting one. We got a little taste of it in round two with the NRL. I think that was the first week NSW Cup was banned," Oldfield said.

"I feel for those boys because we're trying to get them in day to day and train hard, but they don't have that weekend of getting to showcase their talents and push their case to play NRL.

"They lose that motivation. When you're not paying footy everyone knows your training is a lot harder so they get topped up in terms of fitness and what not.

"It's going to feel like a year-long pre-season for them. That's definitely something we need to take into account for them.

"Especially as young kids. Find ways to keep them motivated. It's everyone's goal for our NRL team to succeed, but at the same time we've still got to look after the other boys who aren't going to get a game this year.

"It's definitely a challenging time ahead. I hope if all this succeeds in terms of the NRL getting up and running that that will follow suit with all the competitions below [like the NSW Cup]."