Harry Grant won’t play NRL finals this year but if he’s a chance to make his State of Origin debut it will mean returning to a biosecurity bubble.
The Wests Tigers hooker is one of several players expected to be named in train on squads at the end of next week, along with club teammates Moses Mbye (Queensland) and David Nofoaluma (NSW).
The 22-year-old Grant is living alone in Sydney’s Northern Beaches and a call up to the Maroons’ Origin side would mean an extended stint in the bubble during finals.
It’s been tough living alone in a new city but if it means playing for the Maroons he would do it all again.
“I’m not sure what the go is or what’s going to happen at the end of the season, so we’ll wait and see what happens,” Grant said on Tuesday.
“If it means playing for Queensland, for sure (I’d stay in the bubble).”
Details about the Origin bubble conditions and duration are yet to be finalised but the RLPA, NRL and state leagues need to reach a conclusion by next week.
The NRL’s workload and balance committee is also working on the restrictions to ensure players who are out of finals but identified for an Origin squad are not put under more stress than necessary.
It’s understood players would get a short reprieve from the strict bubble conditions to visit family or socialise before going back in.
They would then be given a training program to follow to stay fit while in isolation before joining the rest of the squad after the grand final.
After naming an initial train-on squad at the end of the regular season, Origin coaches Brad Fittler and Kevin Walters are then expected to add additional players to the list once teams are knocked out of the finals each week.
It comes after the NRL finalised the venues for the series on Tuesday, with Adelaide Oval to host game one on November 4 – the first time an Origin game has been held in South Australia.
It will be followed by Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on November 11 and Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on November 18.
In it’s third year, Women’s State of Origin will be held on the Sunshine Coast on November 13, moving from North Sydney Oval for the first time.
Crowd capacities for each venue will be finalised before the end of the month.