Albury coach Adrian Purtell eager for possible July return

With NSW Rugby League announcing a return date of July 18 for competitions and training from July 1, Purtell knows a lot can change.

Rugby league is the first major football code in Australia to give an indication of a resumption in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Purtell, having a date to work off at this stage is certainly a positive as a reduced Group Nine season looms.

"It's some good news in what's been some pretty tough times," he said.

"I don't want to get too excited just yet as I'm sure there's a lot of boxes to be ticked before we get the season under way again.

"There's a bit of light at the end of the tunnel and it gives us a bit of motivation with the training we're doing."

Albury have lost exciting English halfback Joe Sanderson as a result of the pandemic.

With some much upheaval the Thunder were understanding of Sanderson's desire to return home.

"he came over here to play footy and when that opportunity wasn't there he thought he would go home for work and to be closer to his family," Purtell said.

"It's a pretty scary time and the situation seems like it is a little bit worse over in England so it is totally understandable Joe wanted to be closer to his family.

However Purtell can't shy away from the fact he was disappointed to have the campaign put on hold after a really strong pre-season from the group.

"We only had one trial against Leeton and things were really developing in the way you'd hope," he said. "I thought we had a good mixture of players and were looking really strong through some key areas as a team, but it wasn't meant to be.

"We've just got to regroup and try to stay positive in case the season does start come July. The date is still three months away, so the hard thing is knowing what actually happens between now and then.

"I think first and foremost health-wise you want the community and the nation to be safe and healthy and then get people back into some normality with their jobs.

"I guess footy is what comes after that - a bit of a bonus and a bit of a positive for people's lives."

If the situation doesn't take a turn between now and then, Purtell expects to get the group together on July 1 for what will be their first training run in almost four months.

"We're going to have to get together on that first date so we can get as much into those first couple of weeks as we can before the season starts and try to get ourselves in the best possible shape for what would be a shorter season," he said.

"A lot of things in life you tend to take for granted until they're taken away.

"Hopefully we can use that as a positive and really enjoy the opportunity to play footy."

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