The Canberra Raiders have confirmed that a pair of players on their roster are still to be vaccinated just six-weeks out from the commencement of the 2022 NRL season.
According to The Canberra Times, Raiders CEO Don Furner confirmed that while the unnamed duo are yet to be jabbed, the number of players still yet to obtain any form of vaccination had been halved.
While the club have reportedly allowed their playing group to make their own decision regarding inoculation, both parties will face issues when 'The Green Machine' are playing outside of the ACT or New South Wales.
Although the league will not require any of its players to have rolled up their sleeves, both the Queensland and Victorian government have implemented strict mandates.
Given Ricky Stuart's side are set to travel to Townsville to face the Cowboys in Round 2, the anonymous duo will be on the clock ahead of March 19.
"That's D-day for us, and we'll talk to them leading into that," Furner stated bluntly.
The Raiders' boss also suggested that with an interrupted pre-season already hampering the franchise's run into their latest campaign, he remained wary of sending rostered players to the All-Star game next month.
"Most coaches don't like them going anyway because you could lose them to injury, now you could lose them from camp for a week as a close contact or with the virus," Furner said.
"It's about minimising the risk, they've got strict protocols for it that are even stricter than our protocols."
The annual showpiece event is set to kick-off at CommBank Stadium on Saturday, February 12, with Canberra facing Cronulla at home in Round 1 on March 11.
