The NRL's curtain-raising pre-season clash between the Indigenous All Stars and Maori All Stars has reportedly hit the skids, with at least six players pulling out of the game.
It has previously been reported that plenty of clubs around the competition have problems with the game going ahead thanks to the coronavirus and challenges associated with that.
Almost every team in the competition has had their pre-season impacted in one way or another. Some have been forced to cancel or postpone sessions altogether, while others have trained with low player numbers.
With players missing valuable preparation time, teams weren't keen on releasing their players for another week, while also not wanting to take the chance that more players could contract the virus which has caused a global pandemic over the past two years.
Contracting the virus for any player means they will be automatically placed into seven days of isolation under current Australian health rules, and it has teams worried.
Fox Sports are reporting the All Stars game will be severely down on manpower.
While some players have come out in support, and the New Zealand Warriors are reportedly more than happy for their players to take part, it's understood Kalyn Ponga, Jarome Luai, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Corey Harawira-Naera will miss out for the Maori team, while Cody Walker and Jack Wighton will miss out for the Indigenous team.
Both teams are due to be named on Tuesday, with Josh Addo-Carr tipped as the likely Indigenous team captain.
The match will be played at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta on Saturday, February 12.
