NRL 2021: The Bulldogs have left Brandon Wakeham, one of the members of the club’s “Bondi five”, in Sydney and out of the club’s biosecurity bubble which relocated to Queensland after handing down further penalties to the players who disobeyed the NRL’s COVID-19 protocols.
Wakeham, who was a starting half before the incident, has spectacularly fallen out of favour and didn’t even travel with the squad to their Gold Coast hub on Wednesday.
It was just a day after he fronted the club’s board for attending an eastern suburbs pub which was later deemed a COVID-19 exposure site.
The NRL had put players on notice earlier in that week about attending public venues. It has called into question whether the Fijian international will play any further part in the Bulldogs’ season, leaving Jake Averillo, Lachlan Lewis and Kyle Flanagan to carry the playmaking burden.
Coach Trent Barrett also has rookie Bailey Biondi-Odo in his squad as part of the halves depth. Wakeham would be required to complete a separate two weeks quarantine away from the squad and unable to play during that time if he was to travel to Queensland later this year. Wakeham joined Dylan Napa – who is fighting to save his NRL career – Aaron Schoupp, Corey Waddell and Sione Katoa in being hit with undisclosed monetary penalties after marathon disciplinary hearings.
The quintet were subject to an internal investigation, which alleged they visited several nightspots after going to the Royal Hotel at Bondi on the night of their loss against the Eels last month. The NRL had warned all clubs to ensure their players and officials avoided the Waverley area at the time, which spawned Sydney’s growing COVID-19 outbreak.