Cronulla Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon to miss NRL round one game against Canberra Raiders with COVID

Fitzgibbon was due to travel with the team to Canberra on Thursday but instead will be forced to watch their round one match against the Canberra Raiders in isolation on Friday night.

Sharks assistant coaches Steve Price, Josh Hannay and Daniel Holdsworth will take the reins for the game against the Raiders.

Price and Hannay will share game day coaching duties, while Holdsworth will be relaying messages during the game as the club's on-field trainer.

"After a carefully planned pre-season, most of the preparations are complete and we have three more than capable coaches to take care of the group for a couple of days. Steve, Josh and DJ will relay the final instructions and get the boys ready for Canberra on Friday," Fitzgibbon said.

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"Obviously the timing of this isn't ideal, you can take all the precautions as I have in following NRL apollo advice and protocols, but with four children at home unfortunately it has caught up with our family at an inopportune time.

"My health is fine and symptoms mild, I look forward to getting back amongst the group next week and I will be in constant communications with the coaches and players."

Cronulla officials say it is likely Fitzgibbon contracted the virus from a family member, and he is expected to return to his post for round two next week.

The Sharks are not the first club to be hit by COVID-19 leading into round one - Brisbane will be without halfback Adam Reynolds after he tested positive - and they likely won't be the last as the virus hovers over the league this season.

Raiders fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has returned to the fold for Canberra after contracting COVID-19 less than three weeks ago.

The virus ruled the New Zealand international out of Canberra's final pre-season trial but coach Ricky Stuart has backed Nicoll-Klokstad to play at fullback in round one.

Nicoll-Klokstad has kept young gun Xavier Savage out of the No. 1 jersey, determined to put a frustrating year behind him after his 2021 campaign was derailed by a neck injury.

The 26-year-old managed just eight games last year, returning for the final three rounds after undergoing spinal fusion surgery.

"It's a really good stepping stone you know. It's good to experience those lows because I believe once you experience the highs you enjoy it a lot more. I took a lot of positives out of those lows and I'm always looking at myself and it's all about perspective," Nicoll-Klokstad said.

"The injury recovery is going good. We've been doing extra neck work, which has just been the norm for everyone else as well but it's what I've needed for my neck. I didn't go into training worrying or thinking about my neck or anything like that. So yeah, it's exciting.

"The new training has helped. Not that you hide from training, but there's some drills where you can just get through the training, but they individualise so many stats that they know if you're not putting in the effort or not. So they coming up with drills where, you need to accelerate, and bring in science, that's modern rugby league, you know? So they brought them on board. I'm really excited what they've brought from an attacking point of view.

"I think it really suits my game and where I am wanting to take it and being able to put that all together with the boys, I'm really excited.

"All the boys will be fit and firing and ready to go. That's why we do all the hard stuff, so the season is not as hard. That's a really exciting time for myself personally and the rest of the boys."

NRL ROUND ONE

Friday: Canberra Raiders v Cronulla Sharks at Canberra Stadium, 6pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. James Schiller, 4. Matt Timoko, 5. Semi Valemei, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Brad Schneider, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Corey Harawira-Naera, 13. Elliott Whitehead (C). Bench: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Adam Elliott, 17. Corey Horsburgh, 18. Ryan Sutton, 19. Matt Frawley, 20. Trey Mooney, 21. Harry Rushton, 22. Jarrod Croker, 23. Xavier Savage, 24. Sam Williams.

Sharks squad: 1. Will Kennedy, 2. Sione Katoa, 3. Jesse Ramien, 4. Ronaldo Mulitalo, 5. Matt Ikuvalu, 6. Matt Moylan, 7. Nicho Hynes, 8. Toby Rudolf, 9. Blayke Brailey, 10. Braden Hamlin-Uele, 11. Briton Nikora, 12. Teig Wilton, 13. Dale Finucane (C). Bench: 14. Aiden Tolman, 15. Siosifa Talakai, 16. Royce Hunt, 17. Andrew Fifita, 18. Luke Metcalf, 19. Jesse Colquhoun, 20. Lachlan Miller, 21. Jensen Taumoepeau, 22. Jayden Berrell, 23. Jonaiah Lualua, 24. Thomas Hazelton.

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