Rugby league vows to play on despite restrictions

SYDNEY: Australia’s hugely popular Aussie Rules suspended its season on Sunday in what it called “the most serious threat to our game in 100 years”, but rugby league vowed to play on despite tough new restrictions to contain the coronavirus.

The bombshell move by the Australian Football League (AFL) after just one match of the season, played in empty stadiums this weekend, was unprecedented for a sport that first established a league in 1896.

“To say this is the most serious threat to our game in 100 years is an understatement,” chief executive Gillon McLachlan said, with lucrative broadcast commitments at stake. “It is unprecedented in its impact. It is unprecedented in the impact it is having on our game and the wider community. As a community and as a code, we all need to take the unprecedented and required actions to get through this together.”