Reporter tests negative after Marshall mixed up in social distancing mishap

ARLC chairman Peter V'landys said the Wests Tigers faced the prospect of the same fine levied on the Bulldogs following a social distancing issue involving Benji Marshall.

Marshall was quarantined from his teammates after he was involved in a social distancing breach with a member of the media on Wednesday.

Less than 24 hours after being controversially dropped for Saturday's clash with Canberra, Marshall greeted Channel Seven reporter Michelle Bishop at the club's training base at St Luke's Park in Concord on Wednesday morning.

Bishop announced on Thursday morning that her COVID-19 test came back negative and thanked those who had afforded her patience over the previous 24 hours.

Speaking on Sydney radio station 2GB on Thursday morning, V'landys said the game's governing body would look into the incident.

"They [Wests Tigers] will probably be treated the same as the Bulldogs," V'landys said.

V'landys stood by the NRL's strong stance on the issue that first sprung up when Canterbury great Terry Lamb shook hands with players at a training session last week. 

Canterbury were handed a $25,000 suspended fine last week after Lamb – who is not a member of their 50-person NRL bubble – interacted with players.

Several players unintentionally flouted NRL protocols and spent several minutes in Lamb's company.

In the incident involving the Wests Tigers, Marshall moved on quickly after greeting Bishop.

"We need to have deterrents in place for the clubs to obey the biosecurity measures," V'landys told Ben Fordham on 2GB.

"The government's been kind enough to allow us to conduct our competition under strict biosecurity measures and we have to honour our part of the deal."

On Wednesday, Marshall had been told he could not return to the club until results of that test were known as per the NRL's biosecurity guidelines.

The Bulldogs followed up their social distancing mishap with a win over the Dragons last on Monday.

The Tigers will be seeking a similar result when they take on the Raiders on Saturday.

Wednesday's events came a day after Marshall had been dropped from the team to face Canberra. Josh Reynolds will take his place in the No.6 jersey.

Halfback Luke Brooks was surprised by Marshall's axing.

With five Tigers – Robert Jennings, Luke Garner, Billy Walters, Oliver Clark and Marshall – dumped following the upset loss to the Titans, Brooks said the message that "no-one is safe" had been delivered by Maguire.

Asked did he feel lucky to survive the mass changes, Brooks responded: "I do in a way.

"I thought Benji had been one of our best players. It was a shock and it puts everyone on notice if someone like Benji can be dropped.

"No-one is safe. We have to play our best footy week-in and week-out or there will be someone else coming in."

Brooks predicted that Reynolds's jack-in-a-box style play could come to the fore with the NRL's new six-again rule encouraging running playmakers.

He can expect to shoulder more of the Tigers' kicking game with Reynolds taking on the No.6 jersey.

After a blunt appraisal of Sunday's loss from Maguire, Brooks said his attitude toward game management – regardless of his halves partner – needed a sharp improvement.

"We didn’t do the things we needed to win the game," Brooks said.

"For me, it was kicking to the corners. I didn’t do that enough. In turn that put pressure on us and there were a few seven-tackle sets. It put a lot of pressure on our defence and cost us.

"Both of us [Brooks and Marshall], it wasn't our best game for game management against the Titans, that's what we have to fix real fast. As a halfback that's your job."