Jack Wighton and Josh Papalii have rejoined their Raiders teammates after testing negative for COVID-19 following their State of Origin exertions last week.
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The representative stars were cleared to return to training on Wednesday morning, and both are expected to line up against the Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium after joining the Raiders bubble.
NRL officials have been working closely with relevant health authorities across the country to integrate State of Origin players back into their club environments.
There were fears earlier this week that Wighton would be forced into isolation and miss the Titans match after he spent a fleeting few hours in Sydney early last week, before the Blues camp headed north to Kingscliff in preparation for Sunday's Origin clinching win at Suncorp Stadium.
But the reigning Dally M medallist is now preparing to line up at five-eighth for Canberra's first clash since the NRL reintroduced level 4 bio security protocols which has forced clubs back into the strict bubble conditions implemented in mid 2020 when the league resumed from a Covid-enforced shutdown.
Players are now only allowed to leave home for playing, training, or essential household tasks.
They can't interact with members of the public and are not allowed visitors to their homes, while NRL grounds will be split back into clean and dirty zones to keep players and officials safely separated from spectators.
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The news of Wighton and Papalii's return comes as North Queensland Cowboys coach Todd Payten was forced into a mandatory 14-day isolation after being labelled a "close contact" of a confirmed COVID case from a recent visit to the Townsville markets.
It also follows the NSWRL being forced to suspend its major competitions across Sydney, Central Coast, Wollongong, Blue Mountains and the Shellharbour. That includes the NSW Cup, in which the eighth-placed Raiders were scheduled to have a bye this weekend.
At this stage the NRL will continue as per program, albeit without crowds in Sydney due to the Harbour City's recent lockdown.
"We've got to do what needs to be done so we can keep this competition going so that's the most important thing," Raiders flyer Jordan Rapana said.
"The adversity that we had last year especially with the injuries as well, being in a bubble definitely brought us together.
"Whether that's being tighter as a team because we're always together in that bubble. . .I definitely think you can come closer as a group. Fingers crossed that hopefully the same thing can happen this year now."
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James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
