Luke Thompson‘s time at the Canterbury Bulldogs could soon come to an end with the English prop clashing with the club over a refusal to be vaccinated.
According to a report from Nine’s Danny Weidler, the 26-year-old has been steadfast in rejecting COVID-19 protocols, in what has been deemed an “explosive” situation.
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“He has been butting heads with Bulldogs management about COVID vaccination,” Weidler wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald.
“He has told them a number of times that he does not want to be vaccinated. He didn’t even want to wear a mask in Brisbane when players were required to do so after the competition was relocated to Queensland.”
Bulldogs players have been told they need to be double-vaccinated for the start of the team’s NRL pre-season training on November 1.
News of Thompson’s refusal to get vaccinated comes after the NRL refused to mandate a vaccine for its players like the AFL had this week.
“We are busy working on the protocols for the players who are vaccinated and the players that are not vaccinated. Hopefully, we are talking about a very small group of players,” NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said.
“Between now and the end of the off-season we will have a very clear set of guidelines for how the clubs and players can get back to training safely for those who are vaccinated and those who aren’t yet vaccinated.”