Leeds Rhinos are placed on Covid red alert

LEEDS RHINOS’ Wembley-bound squad have been placed on Covid red alert, but boss Richard Agar admits it is impossible to eliminate all risk.
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Tomorrow’s opponents Castleford Tigers were reduced to 14 fit players today after three tested positive for coronavirus and six more were stood down under track and trace.

Tigers were already struggling with a lengthy injury list and the game could be called off if three players – whose inclusion would take them to 17 – fail fitness tests tomorrow morning.

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Rhinos and the RFL were being kept in touch with the situation which was revealed after Leeds had their own scare today.

Leeds Rhinos head coach Richard Agar. Picture: Simon HulmeLeeds Rhinos head coach Richard Agar. Picture: Simon Hulme
Leeds Rhinos head coach Richard Agar. Picture: Simon Hulme

Agar confirmed “a couple” of inconclusive results were returned by players in the latest round of testing, leading to several team-mates being temporarily stood down. The players involved were later given the all-clear and are available for tomorrow evening, if the game goes ahead.

Any player testing positive between now and next weekend would be ruled out of the Coral Challenge Cup final against Salford Red Devils in 10 days’ time.

Others identified on track and trace as having been in close contact would have to isolate and also miss the final – and Rhinos players could be impacted if Tigers returned any positive tests following tomorrow’s match.

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Agar said everything possible is being done to avoid the nightmare scenario of players being made unavailable for the Cup final, but conceded it is “in the lap of the gods”.

Emerald Headingley Stadium. Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.Emerald Headingley Stadium. Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.
Emerald Headingley Stadium. Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.

The team boss admitted: “I wouldn’t want to be the bloke to tell [players] they have to miss out on a showpiece final.

“Especially if you are track and traced from an opposition team.

“As far as I am aware, none of the guys stood down on track and trace within the game have developed Covid.

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“It would be an extremely bitter pill to swallow if that was the case.”

Leeds Rhinos' Brad Dwyer.
 Picture: Bruce Rollinson.Leeds Rhinos' Brad Dwyer.
 Picture: Bruce Rollinson.
Leeds Rhinos' Brad Dwyer. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.

So far, hooker Brad Dwyer – who has now fully recovered – is the only Leeds player to have contracted the illness.

Agar added: “In terms of what we are doing, we have asked the guys to be vigilant.

“We are really confident we have got a secure training venue [at Kirkstall] and we are very careful around the place.

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“Our next Covid tests will be Sunday and we have got a game to negotiate first.

“We have asked the guys to be ultra cautious, just going home, coming here [to training] and putting yourself in as much of a bubble as you possibly can.

“We are very socially distant when we do our team talks and in our meeting rooms, everybody wears a mask and there’s hand sanitised everywhere.

“We are taking the utmost caution, but sometimes it is out of our hands.”

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The idea of keeping the players together in a hotel before they travel to London in nine days’ time has been rejected.

“We have got a game so we are going up against another team and we can’t control what Castleford do,” Agar noted.

“We are really confident we have got a clean and secure environment here.

“If it means from now until the next tests on Sunday they attend the game, stay at home and then come to training on Sunday, it’s only four days.

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“But kids are going to school, their parents – if they live at home with their parents – go to work.

“We can’t ask their whole families’ worlds and lives to stop.

“Brad Dwyer had it, he was at home with his mum and dad and he also spent a couple of days in at training when he would have been infectious and he infected no one around him.

“We are asking them to be as vigilant as they can, given the circumstances, but we are in the lap of the gods as well at times.”

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