So it made the news today that a new cluster of COVID19 has sprung up in Wollongong, outside of the initial breakout area in the Northern beaches (itself being Manly territory). As everyone here well knows the Gong is the Dragons nest. That's 2 for 2 for hotspots in NSW coinciding strongly with League heartland. It seems there is every likelihood that season 2021 is going to face the same complications that plagued (no pun intended) 2020, namely troubles with getting NSW teams over the border for games in QLD and keeping players in constant lockdown, not to mention potentially a second straight year with no crowds at games.
The newest breakout in NSW isn't quite at full on crisis levels yet, but its bad enough to kill crowds for New Years celebrations at the very least, which can't be good for their local economy as an aside. If it does get any worse, the NRL are going to need to start strongly considering another safe harbor system in QLD for the NSW teams, and to do it early while the breakout isn't so severe that Palaszczuk gets cold feet, and to give the players plenty of time to quarantine ahead of the trials.