The NRL’s Head of Football (Elite competitions) Graham Annesley has revealed the New Zealand Warriors have been given special dispensation to acquire loan players.

It comes after the club has been forced to relocate to Australia indefinitely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and International borders being closed meaning they cannot top up their list with reserve grade players from New Zealand.

The Warriors have been hit with a horror injury toll in the last couple of months despite not being able to get on the field with the likes of Jazz Tevaga, Leeson Ah Mau and Adam Keighran all sidelined.

Annesley told The Continuous Call Team the club will now be allowed to negotiate agreements with rival clubs to bring in reinforcements.

“They’ve been given that (dispensation) only a few hours ago,” Annesley said.

“All clubs were notified that the Warriors will be given that dispensation.

“The salary cap auditor has used discretion to give that approval subject to the (ARL) Commission ultimately signing off on that, that’s been done.

“Everyone appreciates the extreme lengths the Warriors have gone to, to try and bring this competition back to life.

“Once the Commission signs off on the rule, the same rule will apply to all clubs subject to meeting the guidelines of course.”

The Warriors will restart their season on May 30 against the Dragons at Central Coast Stadium.

Click ‘play’ to hear the full interview below.

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