Roosters coach Trent Robinson has openly agreed with the NRL's strict Covid restriction protocols despite howls of derision from a sect of the competition's players.
The 44-year-old's comments have come in the wake of the league's decision to bar players access from certain venues in an effort to see the 2022 season start, and end, on time.
Ahead of clubs recommencing their pre-season training programs following the Christmas break, the league stated that they would not only be testing players and staff on a daily basis but also banning those at clubland from entering indoor businesses such as pubs, clubs and cinemas.ย
Yet, while the mandate on keeping athletes out of harm's way is clear, an array of star names within the competition have spoken out about its rigidity.
Since the leisure altering laws were announced earlier this month, the likes of Latrell Mitchell, Jack Wighton, Jordan Rapana and Jarome Luai saw fit to post their opposition on their personal social media accounts.
RELATED: Players, NRL to hold critical Covid-19 protocol talks
However, Robinson stated onย SEN1170ย that he could understand the need for the competition's screws to tighten and the 480 players who ply their trade within it to comply.
โEveryone knows itโs [Covid] jumped on us over the last few weeks โฆ this isnโt about as a 20-year-old: โhow come we canโt go to a nightclub?โ,โ he said.
โWe know weโve got vaccinations but weโve also got to look after the elderly and the vulnerable for a period of time.
โWe know weโve just got to go through this for however many weeks or months with some small restrictions.โ
The triple-premiership winning coach also claimed that similar complaints to those offered by others were not commonplace within his changeroom.
โI have not heard one complaint about the restrictions. Iโve heard nothing, not one complaint, not one question,โ Robinson continued.
โTheyโve just gone โokay, thatโs what weโve got to doโ.
โEveryone can see whatโs in front of us at the moment.
โWe received [the message from the NRL], we passed it on [to the players] and weโre going about adhering to them and weโll just keep training.
โI donโt see it as a big deal at the moment. You can go to a restaurant but just sit outside, is that the end of the world in summer?โ
With the vast majority of franchises across the nation having had members of their on and off-field staff hampered by the virus, the former Catalans steward revealed that the Moore Park club was no different.
โAs a percentage, we would have about 75 per cent that have had it or are going through it [either Covid-19 or close-contact isolation] at the moment,โ Robinson delineated.
โOut of 36, we had 11 training on the first day back after pre-season but also a couple of those guys have had it earlier in Christmas.
โItโs cool, itโs not different to what everyone else is going through.
โLifeโs not back to normal for us โ weโve got different guys coming in and out every day โ but weโll just keep surging ahead with our training.โ
Robinson and the Roosters are set to start their 2022 season at home against the Knights on March 12.
The Tri-colours will also face Canberra and Wests in a pair of trial contests currently scheduled to kick off on February 18 and 25.
