Rugby league: NRL crisis meeting to decide Warriors' lockdown fate

Ten of the NRL's 16 teams currently live in New South Wales locked-down areas, including the New Zealand Warriors. Photosport

Sydney's fortnight-long Covid-19-induced lockdown has thrown the NRL season into chaos with crowdless games expected while the venue for State of Origin game three is up in the air.

Game three is due to be played at ANZ Stadium on July 14, but the Australian Rugby League is considering moving the game to an alternative venue or playing it in front of a reduced crowd.

From 6pm on Saturday, residents in Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains and Wollongong will have to abide by stay-at-home order until July 9.

Ten of the NRL's 16 teams currently live in those areas, including the New Zealand Warriors, who have relocated to the Central Coast this season.

State of Origin III is now in extreme doubt with the game schedule only five days after Sydney's lockdown is due to end.

The NRL has not hesitated to change the venue of games in the past, moving Game One of the State of Origin series from Melbourne to Townsville when Victoria was in lockdown at the start of June.

The ARL Commission will hold a crisis meeting on Tuesday where it will decide whether to hold NRL games in Sydney as scheduled without crowds or relocate the matches outside of locked-down areas.

The NRL competition is set to resume after the State of Origin break on Thursday when the Sydney Roosters take on Melbourne in Newcastle, which has already been moved from the Sydney Cricket Ground.

There are three more games scheduled for Sydney next weekend as well as the first two games of round 17, which also fall into the lockdown period.

These games could go ahead without crowds with Greater Sydney-based NRL players and staff under strict bubble restrictions.

It's now expected the NRL will expand those bubble restrictions to include all teams to ensure the competition can go ahead.

The Warriors are set to face the Dragons in Gosford on Friday before travelling to Sydney to play the Sharks on Sunday July 11.

Nathan Brown's team have a planned home game back in New Zealand on August 15, their first in two seasons, which remains as scheduled.