'No jab, no play': How NRL players could be FORCED to live permanently under gruelling Level 4 Covid restrictions if they refuse the vaccine

• Players who choose not to be vaccinated will be stuck in non-stop quarantine
• But stars who get a jab will be allowed to return to pre-pandemic normality
• NRL bosses believe the choice will reveal which players 'love the sport'  most
• The proposal is set to be approved by the end of the season or early next year 

NRL stars face living in a permanent Covid bubble if they refuse to get vaccinated, reports have claimed.

New guidelines being drawn up by the governing body are said to bring in a two tier system which will see jabbed players enjoying a complete return to normal pre-pandemic life.

But the players who decline to get vaccinated will be permanently stuck in a lockdown status quo with no relief from current constraints and restrictions. 

NRL insiders believe the system will test just how committed some players are to the sport, and how strongly some feel about their possible opposition to vaccines.

'I think the no jab, no play edict is a given eventually. Then we will find out the people who really love rugby league,' one club official said, according to the Daily Telegraph.

'It's a civil right to say no to a vaccine but you can have rules for your own game. We will all have passports soon that will get us on planes and into events.'

The proposal needs to be rubber-stamped by the ARL Commission but it's expected to be implemented by the end of this season or early next year.

Players are currently camped out in Queensland after their exodus there when Sydney was put into lockdown, but are living under strict level four quarantine rules.

All players are required to wear face masks, get regular covid tests, have restricted household guests and visitors, daily location check-ins and only allowed out for essential household tasks.

Under the proposed system, unvaccinated players would have to continue to live under those conditions for the foreseeable future - or instead, get jabbed.

To avoid confrontations, the NRL is said to be planning to encourage all players and staff to get vaccinated as soon as possible so life can return to normality.

The move comes after Venues NSW revealed plans to enforce vaccine passports for spectators wanting to watch sports at NSW stadiums next year.  

Fans will need to have both Covid-19 jabs to visit a stadium and watch big sporting events like the NRL, AFL, or cricket.

Venues NSW chairman Tony Shepherd will put forward his proposal to the state government in the next few weeks and hopes they will be approved by next year. 

'If you choose not to have the jab that is your civil right in a free country but the Delta strain is extremely transmissible and we need to do something to reopen our stadiums,' he said.

'The venues will have to say you can't attend. Simple as that.'