Warriors forward Tohu Harris says he fully supports the decision of his NRL teammates to fly back to Auckland as he counts down the days until he’s reunited with his own family.
The club has confirmed David Fusitu’a, Ken Maumalo, Agnatius Paasi and King Vuniyayawa will fly back to Auckland on July 27 after the NRL failed to get an exemption for their families to join them in Australia.
Harris, whose own family is quarantining on the Central Coast before joining him in camp, said he feels for the players who have been in Australia without their loved ones since late March.
The situation became even tougher this week when the NRL reinstated the biosecurity bubble, forcing players to stay within their camps and away from cafes and restaurants.
“Some guys have their families here now, they’ve been able to spend some quality time with them, which has been awesome for them,” Tohu said ahead of Sunday’s clash with Cronulla.
“But the guys who don’t have their families, you’ve just got to try and keep things fresh to get through the days, pretty much.
“It has been tough. We’ve got guys whose families haven’t been able to get over, so they’ve decided to go home, which is completely understandable, to be honest.
“I feel for them and want them to be with their families, because this situation is hard.
“People try and say ‘just get on with it’, but it’s harder than that and there’s more to it than that, so I’m happy that those guys are closer to being with their families.”
Although they are away from home, the Warriors have established somewhat of a home ground advantage at Central Coast Stadium.
So far this season they have won all three games they have hosted there, which will come as a warning to the Sharks who are desperate to bounce back from last week’s shocking loss to Penrith.
Through injuries and disruption, the Sharks conceded 56 points to the Panthers, although coach John Morris is not using it as an excuse.
He does, however, expect more fight from his players this week even with stars Matt Moylan and Andrew Fifita on the sidelines for the next few weeks.
“Injuries are part of the game. It does hurt you but we’ve just got to find a way to get on with it,” he said.
“You look back at what the Raiders are going through.
“They’re missing six or seven of their starting players and look what they did the other night against the Roosters.”
STATS THAT MATTER
*The Warriors have won all three games at Gosford this season but have lost all six games away from the Central Coast.
*In Gosford the Warriors have averaged 27 points per game and conceded just 14 per game, while in their six games away from Gosford, they have managed only six points per game and conceded almost 29 per game.
*The 56 points conceded to Penrith last week is the equal second most ever by Cronulla in a match (most is 74-4 in 2003 against the Eels).