Sounds of silence: Koroisau expects teams to revisit tactics

Penrith hooker Api Koroisau says the ramifications of playing at a crowdless venue can't yet be measured but believes teams could alter their communication without outside noise.

The Panthers will be one of eight clubs who will benefit from a lack of "away" atmosphere in round two of the Telstra Premiership when games go behind closed doors for the first time in NRL history due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Canberra and the Warriors will play at neutral venue Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast in a bid to keep the competition schedule intact following the New Zealand Government's decision to place a mandatory 14-day self-isolation rule on people entering the country.

With broadcasters and media still welcome, a decision will need to be made around the use of on-field audio.

Koroisau, who believed Penrith's round one crowd of 10,160 on Saturday night made a difference in the second half, was a fan of continuing on with the competition but couldn't imagine the thought of no one in attendance.

"Hopefully it's something we'll never have to experience again, I can't really imagine it, to be honest," Koroisau told NRL.com.

"To have a full-on competition game with no one there will be a first for everyone.

"The thing is there's already a lot of chat on the field between the players. All teams are barking orders between each other, communication at all sport is most important so it will be interesting to see what happens there.

"You'll hear everyone talking and the other team as well so it's going to be weird. Usually, the crowd noise blocks that out.

"The coaches have already told us it's going back to pre-season training if the competition is suspended so everyone has put their hand up to keep the ball rolling. We're not fans of stopping altogether."

Koroisau took just five minutes to get mixed reactions out of the Penrith crowd on Saturday night when he marked his return to the club by kicking the ball out on the full in the first play of the game.

He then received a Bronx cheer when he managed to keep the next kick restart in the field of play.

"I had a really good chuckle kicking off the second time when the crowd went off," he said.

"It got me back into the game quick, we couldn't have started the game any worse but we stuck in there.

"You can't put a number on how important crowds are. Plenty of times in the game we heard the crowd backing us.

"We feed off that so it will be an eerie feeling to play in front of nobody."

Koroisau was among the Panthers' best in the win over the Roosters. In an 80-minute performance he had 10 carries for 110 metres and a game-high 59 tackles.

"I was floating in and out of the game in the first 30 minutes, it was fast and all over the place," he said.

"The longer the game went the more I could inject myself there. There are good signs for us."