The Newcastle Jets have postponed their junior games this weekend in light of a positive test in the club's academy system.
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A member of the Jets' under-15s tested positive on Wednesday, prompting the club to immediately cancel training for the rest of the week.
On Thursday evening, the club announced its boys' and girls' teams, many of which were due to play in Sydney this weekend, would have the weekend off.
It also extended the break in training for all of next week.
"This will allow health authorities to conduct their extensive contact tracing procedures, as well as enable young players and their close contacts from our academy to undergo COVID-19 testing," the club said in a statement.
"The ongoing health situation throughout NSW will be monitored by the club and Football NSW in the coming days, and decisions surrounding immediate training and games programs of the club's academy teams will be made in due course, in consultation with advice from the relevant authorities."
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Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp, whose son plays in the Jets under-15s, had earlier urged Hunter sports clubs and organisations to reconsider travelling to Sydney.
Academy technical director Craig Deans said postponing this weekend's games was in the best interest of all parties.
"It's not just us, but it's also best for opposition clubs if we don't proceed with this weekend's games as a precaution," Deans said.
"A number of academy parents are working in essential service roles, and the last thing we want to do as a club is put undue pressure on players or parents to be travelling throughout Newcastle and Sydney in light of what's happened in the last 24 hours.
"I feel that it's important that the club errs on the side of caution at the moment, until we have a clearer picture of the health situation as a whole in Newcastle and NSW over the next week."
Mr McKinna said in an earlier interview on Thursday that it was too early to say whether the academy should stop playing in Sydney during the pandemic.
"We don't know yet the boy's got it from football," he said. "Everybody's jumping to that conclusion. We can't jump in and make decisions now. We need to find out the facts."
The Jets boys' under-14s, 15s and 16s have travelled twice to Sydney since the NSW National Premier Leagues 2 competition resumed in early July. The Jets also have an under-13 boys' team, junior girls' squads and under-18 and under-20 male teams playing in Sydney competitions.
Adamstown Rosebud have cancelled their first-grade, youth and under-18 Northern NSW NPL matches this weekend due to possible links with confirmed coronavirus cases.
Kotara South Football Club also cancelled all its home and away matches this weekend, and Newcastle Hockey Centre is closed until Monday.
Wests rugby league club has also pulled all its junior teams from games this weekend.
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