Australia's National Rugby League became one of the last professional contact sports to shut down in response to the spread of the coronavirus, suspending its 16-team competition on Monday.
While football authorities in other parts of the world bowed to government edicts against travel or public gatherings or the new reality of reduced social contact, the NRL sought to continue.
In Australia, rugby union and Australian rules football had already suspended their competitions, not just the professional leagues but even at a community level.
The NRL, facing a possible $500 million hit to its finances if the national league ceased, spent hours Monday considering alternatives to a open-ended suspension of the season.
At one point it was considering moving all of its teams to the small town of Calliope in Queensland state where matches might continue strictly for television.
All sports depend on broadcasting rights but rugby league is in a tough financial position and that drove its attempts to find any means to continue, even with fans excluded from stadiums and inter-state travel restricted.
More From This Section
The head of the Australian Rugby League Commission, Peter V'landys, described the suspension as "catastrophic" but said the latest medical advice from government officials made it clear an unprecedented postponement of the NRL was necessary.
"Our pandemic and biosecurity experts said due to the outbreak it is no longer safe for our players to play," V'landys said.
This decision hasn't been taken lightly. Our experts are very concerned with the rapid rate (of spread). We were alarmed at how everything changed over the past 24 hours."