NRL to make against-the-odds return for sports-starved Australians

Australia's National Rugby League has battled player scandals, top-level resignations and dire financial revelations during the coronavirus shutdown, but against the odds it returns this week to bring relief to team owners and a sports-starved nation.

The fledgling season had seen two rounds of matches when it was suspended on March 24 and will have a different feel when it resumes with Brisbane Broncos hosting Parramatta Eels behind closed doors on Thursday.

An "NRL island" off the Queensland coast, where all 16 teams would have been kept in isolation, had been considered.

But Australia's success in containing the virus has allowed the league instead to play in two states -- New South Wales and Queensland -- under strict health measures, with a Grand Final planned for October 25.

The New Zealand Warriors will be encamped in rural Tamworth, about 420 kilometres (260 miles) north of Sydney, while Melbourne Storm have moved to Albury on the Victoria-NSW border.

Teams may struggle to match the off-field drama that has unfolded since the enforced shutdown.

"I can't stress enough that our game has never faced such challenges," Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys warned in March.

V'landys has remained bullish in the face of criticism, pushing for a May 28 kickoff even though many warned it was potentially dangerous in a global health emergency.

A successful resumption will give the NRL a head start in Australia's intensely competitive sporting market.

Australian Rules football this week revealed fixtures for a June 12 restart, but no dates have yet been set for Super Rugby and football's A-League.

- Lockdown scandals -
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