New South Wales Rugby League are set to abandon their 2021 season.
While junior competitions were able to be completed after a long delay in 2020, according to a Sydney Morning Herald report, the state body will meet later this week to abandon the current season.
All reserve grade and state-run competitions in New South Wales have been suspended since June 20, before lockdown measures in Sydney forced the suspension of play.
It's a bitter blow for the next generation of talent, as well as those on the fringe of first grade, given the New South Wales Cup was unable to be completed last year.
Not only has reserve grade likely now been lost for a second year in a row, but the timing of the current spike in cases meant even junior representative matches were unable to be played once again.
Sydney's lockdown is now due to run until at the least the end of August, meaning there is no possible chance for the New South Wales Cup, or other competitions such as the Sydney Shield, to return before September.
And even that would be unlikely, given players would need to be given time to train ahead of a shortened season and finals to follow.
It means that, with ground handovers unlikely to be pushed back again to summer sports after a deal was brokered last year to allow winter codes to continue playing into September and October, the NSWRL will be left with no choice but to abandon their season.